What it does
Volume Rate of Change (Volume ROC) measures how much current volume differs from volume N bars ago, computed as (current volume minus volume N periods back) divided by the older value, times 100. It ignores price entirely and isolates surges or droughts in participation. Spikes reveal moments when interest in the instrument suddenly expanded.
Typeoscillatorseparate pane
How to add it
Click Indicators (ƒx) in the header.
Search “Volume Rate of Change” and click the result.
Hover its legend row and click the gear to open settings.
How traders use it
- A strong positive spike on a price breakout validates the move; a breakout with flat or negative Volume ROC is suspect and prone to failure.
- Volume surges near the end of extended trends can mark climax buying or selling; combine with reversal candles to spot exhaustion.
- Persistently negative readings during a pullback suggest low conviction selling, favoring trend continuation.
- Keep the lookback short (12 to 25 bars) and read it alongside price structure; the number alone says nothing about direction.
Inputs
| Input | Type | Default | Range / Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period | number | 14 | 1–200 |
Plots & styling
| Plot | Style | Default color |
|---|---|---|
| VROC | line | #ff9800 |
Every plot's color, line width and visibility can be changed on the Style tab. Precision (default 2 decimals), price-scale labels and status-line values are configurable at the bottom of the Style tab.
Tips
- Reference levels (where the study has them) are editable — tune them to the instrument you're trading.
- 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.
Watch out for
- Volume is naturally spiky, so the indicator whipsaws violently and single anomalous prints (expiries, rebalances, block trades) create false surges.
- It carries no directional information and is meaningless on instruments without dependable volume data.