2010issue C138-11
Currency congestion counts and range construction
A currency congestion zone is built by counting candles that stay inside a narrowing same-price band, then boxing that band and filtering whether travel is sideways. The two-close test at the fulcrum comes only after that construction is in place.
- A congestion-count is built by tallying daily candles whose highs and lows stay the same or nearly the same, so the count itself constructs the range.
- Congestion is a stuck, legless pause, whereas consolidation is described as a short rest before another directional leg.
- A fulcrum through the middle of the zone waits for two consecutive closes before direction is treated as resolved.
- A box-pattern turns the high-minus-low span into a measured projection, and the vertical-horizontal-filter forecasts whether travel is mostly directional or mostly sideways.
Entries in this reading1 entry
The count is the range
A currency congestion zone is identified by counting daily candles whose highs and lows are the same or nearly the same. That congestion-count is not a label added after the fact. It is the construction of the range.
On a daily euro versus US dollar chart, one illustrated congestion occupied the four candlesticks from December 20 to December 24, 2009.
A fulcrum waits for two closes
A fulcrum is built by drawing a horizontal line through the middle of the congestion zone. Direction is not treated as resolved until two consecutive closes print above or below that line.
Bar-chart and close-based counts
On bar charts, congestion is constructed when at least four bars close inside the range of a single measuring bar. Later range extensions still add to the same congestion-count if they remain inside that zone.
One close-based construction rule states that congestion exists if a high or low is not broken and is then followed by two closes in the opposite direction. After that, seven days of closes are plotted to check that the zone has stabilized.
A stalled-candlestick as an early reading
A stalled-candlestick is a three-soldier or three-crow sequence whose third bar fails to make a new extreme. When that stall is followed by a narrowing symmetrical triangle, the sequence is used as an early construction of congestion, before the opposing triangle lines meet.
Completing the box-pattern
A box-pattern is completed by marking congestion highs and lows, then subtracting high from low. The resulting range can be used as a measured projection after a breakout.
Spread at one sample and the listed filter
A six-step sample standard-deviation construction is used to describe how prices are spread around the congestion zone at one sampling moment. The steps are the mean, the deviations, the squares, the sum, division by one less than the sample size, and then the square root.
The vertical-horizontal-filter is the listed quantitative baseline for this construction. It takes ordered price observations over a defined lookback. Its output is used as a forecast of whether travel is mostly directional or mostly sideways.
Educational research material, not investment advice. Historical source context does not establish present-day performance.
178 of 228 in the Trend and channels track
201152-56 pp.Next on Trend and channelsTreat a squared-chart swing forecast as a same-day hypothesisOn a squared chart, the 45-degree 1x1 from a pivot peak or valley is the primary support-resistance line: price above it is read as bullish and price below it as bearish.All readings on this track · 228 readings
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- 1984Gold swing chart: failed highs, wash-out, and a boxed pivot range
- 1984Range grid to sideways break in 1984 gold
- 1985Constructing median lines from graded pivots
- 1985When Gann lines, Gann angles, and a Fibonacci retracement coincide
- 1985Gold-proxy trendlines and a January support base
- 1986Constructing median and action-reaction lines from pivots
- 1986Constructing a commodity channel index and a regression price channel
- 1986Constructing Wyckoff trendlines on vertical and figure charts
- 1988Constructing price channels from trendlines
- 1988Three-point curved trend channel construction
- 1988Reaction length as a trend integrity test
- 1988Stacked channel, trendline, and moving-average warnings in 1987
- 1988Constructing trend definitions with filters and lines
- 1988Least-squares construction of channel trendlines
- 1988Treat a suspected bend as a construction test
- 1988Constructing action-reaction lines from two pivots
- 1988Constructing intradaily point-and-figure boxes and pivot ladders
- 1988Remaining life on a percent-filtered swing chart
- 1989Constructing percentage-box point-and-figure charts
- 1989Reversal count as the clock on point-and-figure charts
- 1989A bond-futures case study in support, volume, and confirmation
- 1989Median line construction from three market turns
- 1989Gann angles on point-and-figure grids
- 1990Money-fund maturity as a companion Eurodollar chart
- 1990Gann price-time clusters for Elliott retracements
- 1990Channel regimes and Gann angle hinges
- 1990Bond trends as auction tests at prior highs
- 1990Constructing dual-average primary-trend confirmation
- 1990Weekly four-stage mapping with average, range, and volume
- 1991Channel location as a remaining-room test
- 1991Constructing layered support and resistance from swings, pivots, and retracements
- 1991Constructing trendlines, price channels, and close-based breakouts
- 1991Swing relative strength versus an index proxy
- 1991Constructing a point-and-figure downtrend-break
- 1991Constructing point-and-figure box and reversal charts
- 1991Two-average confirmation before a primary reversal call
- 1991Constructing Wyckoff readiness tests at range edges
- 1991Ranking turning points with percentage swing filters
- 1991Trend as persistence, not a straight line
- 1991Delayed confirmation is not Dow Theory divergence
- 1991Five-count swing-chart construction and break rules
- 1991GM support and resistance role reversal
- 1991Unfinished point-and-figure until filter, scale, and pivots measure percent
- 1991Constructing price objectives from measured moves and swings
- 1991Confirmation delay and breadth divergence in a two-average case
- 1992Constructing the Gann quarterly swing from the prior quarter's intraday range
- 1992Trendline holds, trailing stops, and industry rotation
- 1992Nested time frames for trend and channel signals
- 1992Critiquing unconfirmed Dow rallies with volume
- 1992Weekly swing invalidation and the trailing stop
- 1992Bond-fund timing inside trendlines, retracements, and dual averages
- 1992Two-point trendline construction from rise over run
- 1992Quarterly swing chart construction and trend duration
- 1993Lead-lag smoothing for weekly trend-channel construction
- 1993Disposable chart ratings from confirmed level tests
- 1993When trend channels define fair value after dislocations
- 1993Valid trendline anchors for three-part reversals
- 1993When Dow Theory signals fail after the decision-makers change
- 1994A three-lock reversal drill: line, oscillator, and volume
- 1994Building a five-level daily pivot grid
- 1994Score industrial and transport sync before calling an intermediate-trend signal
- 1995From a downtrend-line break to a regression channel
- 1995Constructing a least-squares trend channel with two-standard-deviation rails
- 1995Constructing least-squares trend channels
- 1995Validated trendline and price channel construction
- 1995Constructing a reproducible alpha-beta price channel
- 1995Constructing measured targets after trendline breaks
- 1995Percentage boxes turn a three-box reversal into a scale decision
- 1995A flattening trendline as a critique of the fundamental overlay
- 1995Constructing three-pivot median-line channels
- 1996Constructing trendlines and channels from explicit swings
- 1996A price-channel case study with a pending triangle signal and a planned stop-loss
- 1996Constructing daily pivot points from session prices
- 1996Median-line pitchfork construction for trend and reversal tests
- 1996Higher time frame balance points as a trend and band filter
- 1997A 1995 industrial-average breakout mapped from component trends
- 1998Testing price-channel breakouts with a lag-aware adaptive average
- 1998Fifty percent retracement as a channel regime test
- 1998Close-based channel rails as daily scenario maps
- 1998Regression channels anchored to Williams %R turning windows
- 1999Constructing support, resistance, trendlines, and price channels
- 1999Constructing common-number support and resistance
- 1999Separate two-bar swing direction from peak-valley trend
- 1999Hand-plotted point-and-figure trendlines and Wyckoff counts
- 1999Squaring charts for Gann angles
- 2000Pivot levels as a daily trade hypothesis
- 2000Constructing trendlines, breaks, and role reversal
- 2000Nested horizon trend alignment with a momentum stack
- 2000Constructing speed resistance lines from trend extremes
- 2000Constructing peak-trough swing reversals
- 2000Crowd balance points before a range-breakout
- 2000Nasdaq tech cycle stages with a 15-day average and trendlines
- 2000Constructing Gann fan angles from swing extremes
- 2000Nested median-line channels as falsifiable swing tests
- 2001Constructing a color stack from every lookback
- 2001Construct a same-session polarity card around the daily pivot
- 2001A volume budget clock for trend-segment construction
- 2001Confirming a price-box break with on-balance volume and the accumulation-distribution line
- 2001Bear-market confirmation via prior correction troughs
- 2001Testing horizontal price channels with stops and scale
- 2002Point-and-figure construction: box, live column, and three-box reversal
- 2002Swing charts as shared grammar for trading mentorship
- 2002Constructing trend swings from confirmed pivots
- 2002Two-average confirmation as a swing-by-swing classroom drill
- 2002Prior-week high and low as this week's support and resistance
- 2002Weekly highs and lows as trend gates
- 2002Median-line versus speed-resistance on one trend
- 2002Evaluate trendline geometry before trusting a breakout
- 2002Trendline, volume, and breakout hypotheses versus cycle-end stories
- 2002Affine channels as reusable trade hypotheses
- 2003Writing the long S&P 500 trendline and cycle junction as one hypothesis
- 2003A three-event trendline reversal checklist
- 2003Log scale trendlines and compound growth
- 2003E-mini point-and-figure box-size and a descending-triangle breakout
- 2003Two-anchor trendline construction without cut-through
- 2003When trendline channels age into a wedge or a break
- 2004Constructing pivot commonality across timeframes
- 2004Constructing action-reaction swing targets and time stops
- 2004Stacking heikin-ashi, swing charts, and a moving average in strong trends
- 2004A three-check drill for support and resistance
- 2004Auditing volume-on-retest rules for prior highs and lows
- 2004Confirmation as the second clock on a trend break
- 2004Weekly exponential averages turn from breakout rails to resistance
- 2004Treat a 15-minute e-mini stair-step as congestion under a daily lid
- 2004Staging energy-complex tops with trendline, breakout, and MACD
- 2004The confirmation-reaction planning window after a joint break
- 2005Box-series transforms for trend and channel work
- 2005Oil services catch-up after channel resistance breaks
- 2005Fanline construction for testing trend health
- 2005Why informal trend calling fails on a confused tape
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- 2005A 50-day ceiling and a rising-floor stalemate
- 2005A 50-day average, a trendline break, and an open barrier flip
- 2005Dow confirmation as a two-average trend test
- 2005Daily average support and Friday volume holds
- 2005Clustered Fibonacci and channel levels in news-driven forex
- 2005Matching a forty-day average to a crude trendline
- 2005Constructing volume-float channels for ABC corrections
- 2005Treat a consolidating currency market as a time-frame problem
- 2005Channel walls that flip roles or recapture price
- 2006Constructing session pivot maps from the prior high, low, and close
- 2006Failed uptrend channel breakout left the euro rangebound
- 2006The swing rule as a measured move beyond a broken barrier
- 2006Constructing a pivot grid for stops and buy-stops
- 2006Ranking near-term support for ETF limit entries
- 2006Monoparametric automatic trendline construction
- 2006When late rallies flatten: a swing-chart classroom
- 2007Constructing Gann fans as currency support and resistance
- 2007Trendline and channel construction on linear versus log scales
- 2007A case study in support, resistance, and trendline role reversal on currency charts
- 2007Reading trendline breaks in a housing-sector case
- 2007Angle of ascent, chart scale, and style-fit
- 2007Round-number reversals on equity-index charts
- 2007Constructing replaceable trendlines for break signals
- 2007Reading trendline breaks before the mechanical signal
- 2007Trading choppy forex trends with channels and Fibonacci breaks
- 2008Related-average confirmation lag after a correction
- 2008Intermediate confirmation outranks secular phasing
- 2008Construct a range-trade hypothesis from a price channel
- 2008Capitulation headlines need trend confirmation
- 2008Parallel listings and divergent trend behavior
- 2008Flipped support and resistance as target zones
- 2008Count the run, then confirm the pivot at a channel edge
- 2010A gold-miner channel plan from value to false breakouts
- 2010Constructing suspect versus confirmed swing trends
- 2010Support and resistance as falsifiable chart hypotheses
- 2010A multi-timeframe channel from value to an overvalued zone
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- 2010Asymmetric price channel construction for congested markets
- 2010Gann angles as timed tests that still need structure and RSI
- 2010Constructing swing charts from clear bar ranges
- 2010Read a 10-and-40 trend on two neighboring time frames
- 2010Qualified trend, volume breaks, and a staged scale-out
- 2010A Dollar Index bounce as a failed-support, Fibonacci and volume test
- 2010Building price force maps from two-bar swings
- 2010Clear-method swing-chart construction
- 2010Currency congestion counts and range construction
- 2011Treat a squared-chart swing forecast as a same-day hypothesis
- 2012Constructing oblique trendlines and median-line channels
- 2012Constructing adaptive horizontal price channels
- 2012Reading a 2012 software directory as a breakout and channel case study
- 2013Stacked swing lows and breakout retrace tests
- 2013Constructing Camarilla levels from prior range
- 2013Constructing a camarilla-grid from a completed lookback range
- 2013Constructing daily pivot support and resistance rungs
- 2013When buy and hold needs a sell rule
- 2013A 2013 rates week as a structure-first exit drill
- 2014Constructing a volume-capacity channel from a sideways base
- 2014Volume-backed support and resistance construction
- 2014Constructing defended price lines from volume clusters
- 2014Constructing defended price lines from volume spikes
- 2014Evaluating trendline swing size per market
- 2014Confirming support with trendlines, channels, and retracements
- 2014Relative charting, Gann angles, and trendline breakouts
- 2014Measured-move and daily pivot price-projection construction
- 2014Constructing daily pivot levels from prior-session OHLC
- 2014Next-session pivot support and resistance from daily bars
- 2014Constructing session pivot rails from the prior-day range
- 2014Constructing median-line channels from a pivot
- 2015Point-and-figure time and volume limits are conventions to test
- 2015Building swing charts from perceptually important points
- 2015SPY volume profile as a support and breakout map
- 2015Constructing four-stage cycles with anchored VWAP
- 2015Constructing fractal swings as support-resistance atoms
- 2015Constructing Renko energy bands so support and resistance arrive as pre-marked leans
- 2016Median-line far parallel as a precommitted exit
- 2016From nonconfirmation to a bearish primary trend change
- 2016Isolating swings with percentage trend thresholds
- 2016Tape reading as judgment under distraction
- 2016Constructing chart scale with a golden-rectangle aspect ratio
- 2017Competing rulers on a pound chart after Brexit
- 2017Nine-zone filter for decade-level breakouts
- 2017Intraday breakouts planned from whole-number support and resistance
- 2017Supply and demand zones as bounded swing maps
- 2017Point-and-figure construction, reversals, and column-based overlays
- 2018Modified Renko charts as a filter for fake breakouts
- 2018Constructing Fibonacci and daily pivot support maps
- 2018Trend-first FX walls stay a hypothesis until a second touch, RSI recross, or failed break
- 2018Aligning daily, weekly, and monthly triangles with trendlines and Fibonacci retracements
- 2018Constructing trendlines, support, and breakout targets from crowd exits
- 2018Building a daily pivot lattice with Fibonacci rails
- 2019A 2019 charting case as a three-check trend classroom
- 2019Constructing intraday pivot channels from prior-session levels
- 2019Trendline break and Fibonacci retracement as a falsifiable outlook check
- 2019Monthly S&P 500 false-break versus the decade trendline
- 2020Basic chart rules for Nasdaq trend reversals
- 2025Using IBM's multi-year price channel as a breakout teaching case
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