What it does
Compares the cumulative volume traded so far today with the average cumulative volume at the same time of day over a lookback of prior sessions, expressed as a ratio. Because intraday volume follows a predictable U-shaped curve, comparing like time with like time reveals genuinely unusual activity long before the daily total is known. A reading of 2.0 means the symbol has traded twice its normal volume for this point in the session.
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “Relative Volume at Time” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- Readings meaningfully above 1 (commonly 1.5 to 2 or higher) flag unusual interest, often driven by news, and mark stocks in play for intraday trading.
- Breakouts occurring with high relative volume are far more likely to follow through than breakouts on normal or thin volume.
- Readings well below 1 indicate a quiet, rotational session where fade and mean-reversion tactics tend to work better than momentum.
- Scan for the highest relative-volume names at the open to build an intraday watchlist.
Inputs
| Input | Type | Default | Range / Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lookback Days | number | 20 | 1–200 |
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| RVOL | histogram | #2196f3 |
Every plot's color, line width and visibility can be changed on the Style tab. Precision (default 4 decimals), price-scale labels and status-line values are configurable at the bottom of the Style tab.
Reference levels
| Level | Value |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | 1 |
Level values, colors and line styles are editable in settings.
Tips
- Hide the study from the legend eye instead of removing it when you only want it out of the way temporarily.
- Merge multiple oscillators into one pane from the legend ⋯ menu to compare them on a shared axis.
- Double-click the plot to open settings directly, skipping the legend hover.
Watch out for
- Scheduled events such as expiry days, index rebalances and results season inflate volume in ways that are not tradeable signals by themselves.
- High relative volume says something is happening but not which direction it will resolve; it needs a price-based trigger.