Williams %R¶
Indicators · Oscillators
Williams %R — inverted stochastic on the bar range.
Williams %R is a momentum oscillator that measures where the latest close sits inside the recent high-low range — essentially an upside-down Stochastic. It runs on a −100 to 0 scale: near 0 means price is closing at the top of its range (strong, possibly overbought), near −100 means it's closing at the bottom (weak, possibly oversold). It's quick and sensitive, which makes it a popular early-warning gauge for exhaustion.
How it works¶
Over the Period (default 14) the block finds the highest high and lowest low, then plots %R = (highest high − close) / (highest high − lowest low) × −100. Because the high sits in the numerator, the scale inverts relative to the Stochastic: 0 is the top, −100 the bottom. Two thresholds mark the extremes — Overbought (default −20) and Oversold (default −80) — drawn as dashed guides in the sub-pane, with plain OB and OS signals that fire when %R pushes past them.
When to use it¶
Williams %R is best in ranging markets for fading extremes: look for %R to recover up out of −80 (oversold) for longs, or roll down from −20 (overbought) for shorts. Because it's so responsive it gives early reads, but it also pins at the extremes during strong trends — like every range oscillator, an "embedded" reading (stuck near 0 in a strong uptrend) is momentum, not a top. Use the turn back from the extreme, not the mere touch.
Example¶
A range fade: wire bars into Williams %R, take the OS signal, and confirm with %R turning back up through −80 via a Crosses Above, routed into a Buy Signal. Only trade it when ADX / DMI confirms a weak trend (a true range), and protect with a Fixed Stop-Loss. Backtest in the Tester.
Tips & gotchas¶
- It's an inverted Stochastic. Same information, flipped scale — pick whichever reads more naturally to you.
- Don't fade a trend. Pinned near 0 (or −100) means strength, not reversal; filter extremes with a trend gauge.
- Very sensitive. Short periods fire constantly; lengthen the period or wait for the turn to cut noise.
- Tune thresholds per asset — −10/−90 for very volatile instruments to avoid constant triggers.
Related blocks¶
Inputs¶
| Socket | Type | What to wire in |
|---|---|---|
| Bars | bars |
Price bars |
Outputs¶
| Output | Type | Plots as | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| %R | series |
Line · sub-pane | Williams %R (−100..0) |
| OB | signal |
— | Above overbought threshold |
| OS | signal |
— | Below oversold threshold |
Parameters¶
| Parameter | Type | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period | number · 2–200 | 14 |
|
| Overbought | number · -100.0–0.0 | -20.0 |
|
| Oversold | number · -100.0–0.0 | -80.0 |
|
| Line color | colour | #9575cd |
Chart guides
This indicator draws reference level(s): overbought, oversold.
Reference auto-generated from the block catalog · category Indicators.