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On-Balance Volume (OBV)

Popularized by Joseph Granville, On-balance Volume is a rolling accumulation of volume based on Close price direction. [Discuss] 💬

csharp
// C# usage syntax
IReadOnlyList<ObvResult> results =
  bars.ToObv();

Historical price bars requirements

You must have at least two historical price bars to cover the warmup periods; however, since this is a trendline, more is recommended.

bars is a collection of generic TBar historical price bars. It should have a consistent frequency (day, hour, minute, etc). See the Guide for more information.

Response

csharp
IReadOnlyList<ObvResult>
  • This method returns a time series of all available indicator values for the bars provided.
  • It always returns the same number of elements as there are in the historical price bars.
  • It does not return a single incremental indicator value.
  • The first period OBV will have a 0 value since there's not enough data to calculate.

ObvResult

propertytypedescription
TimestampDateTimeDate from evaluated TBar
ObvdoubleOn-balance Volume

🚩

absolute values in OBV are somewhat meaningless. Use with caution.

Utilities

See Utilities and helpers for more information.

Chaining

Results can be further processed on Obv with additional chain-enabled indicators.

csharp
// example
var results = bars
    .ToObv(..)
    .ToRsi(..);

This indicator must be generated from bars and cannot be generated from results of another chain-enabled indicator or method.

See Chaining indicators for more.

Streaming

Use the buffer-style List<T> when you need incremental calculations without a hub:

csharp
ObvList obvList = new();

foreach (IBar bar in bars)  // simulating stream
{
  obvList.Add(bar);
}

// based on `ICollection<ObvResult>`
IReadOnlyList<ObvResult> results = obvList;

Subscribe to a BarHub for advanced streaming scenarios:

csharp
BarHub barHub = new();
ObvHub observer = barHub.ToObvHub();

foreach (IBar bar in bars)  // simulating stream
{
  barHub.Add(bar);
}

IReadOnlyList<ObvResult> results = observer.Results;

See Buffer lists and Stream hubs for full usage guides.