1
Relative volume
Current volume divided by a comparable historical baseline.
Lesson · Volume and Order Flow
Relative Volume and Volume Spikes
Normalize current volume against a baseline and distinguish participation expansion from climax or absorption.
Core concepts
What to understand
Keep the interpretation direct: participation, aggressive side, and actual price progress.
2
Expansion
Volume rises and price continues making directional progress.
3
Climax or absorption
Extreme volume appears, but price stalls, rejects, or quickly reverses.
Interactive lab
Change the market conditions
Use the controls and read the “What the market is doing” explanation after each change.
Relative Volume and Volume Spikes Lab
Synthetic educational data · no live market connection
MARKET DATA
Reading process
Follow the reading steps
Do not jump from one number to a trade. Describe the evidence first.
Build a fair baseline
Compare the same timeframe and, for intraday data, similar times of day.
Locate the spike
Measure how far current volume exceeds normal participation.
Inspect response
Did price continue, stall, or reverse after the spike?
Knowledge check
Check your interpretation
Select one answer for each question. Feedback appears immediately.
1. Current volume is 180,000 and baseline volume is 100,000. RVOL is:
180,000 ÷ 100,000 = 1.80.
2. A large volume spike produces almost no price movement. What is the direct reading?
Orders are active, but the aggressive side is not moving price far.
3. Why compare similar times of day intraday?
The open and close commonly trade more volume than midday, so an unfair baseline can mislead.
4. The twenty-bar baseline averages 1,000 contracts and a bar prints 2,400. With the threshold at 1.5×, does the bar qualify as a spike?
2,400 ÷ 1,000 = 2.4×, above the 1.5× threshold, so the bar qualifies. What it meant still depends on the bars after it.
Practical rules
- Use comparable bars for the baseline.
- A spike is an event, not a directional signal.
- Judge the next price response, not only the spike bar.
Common mistakes
- Comparing the market open with midday volume.
- Calling every spike institutional buying.
- Ignoring news, auctions, and expiration effects.
References
Official reading
The lab is simplified; these sources provide the underlying market and execution definitions.
CME Group · What is Volume?
Official overview of how futures volume is counted and interpreted.