What the SW Extreme Balance indicator shows

What the SW Extreme Balance indicator shows

An oscillator is an indicator whose readings move within a defined scale. Both SW Extreme Balance versions in our platform use a 0–100 scale. Each value reflects the balance of two price components accumulated over a selected number of bars. It is not a percentage probability of a rise or decline.

The area above the upper band is conventionally called overbought; the area below the lower band is called oversold. These names describe the line’s state. Price can keep rising with a high reading or falling with a low one. Examine the price chart, the sequence of bars and the time spent outside the band.

Bars outside the boundary: how long the line stays beyond a band

The duration count measures consecutive bars strictly above the upper boundary or strictly below the lower boundary. It distinguishes a brief excursion from a persistent state. Highlighting starts only when the selected threshold is reached. With the default threshold of 16, the first fifteen bars remain unshaded and highlighting begins on the sixteenth. Earlier bars are not shaded retrospectively.

A return inside the bands, exact equality with a boundary or an unknown value ends the previous run. A move directly to the opposite side starts a new count at one. A duration threshold of 16 on a weekly chart means sixteen weekly bars; on a monthly chart it means sixteen monthly bars, rather than a fixed sixteen calendar days.

A long stay outside the bands identifies a persistent indicator state. The count does not predict a reversal date. Editing the duration threshold changes the start of highlighting while leaving the SW Extreme Balance line itself unchanged.

SW Extreme Balance and SW Phase Count answer different questions

SW Phase Count and SW Parallel Count label stages of a price sequence with 9 and 13 on the main chart. SW Extreme Balance I and II provide a continuous reading in a separate panel. SW Extreme Balance is therefore not another count to thirteen.

When using them together, first understand each study independently. A 13 appearing near a SW Extreme Balance excursion gives you two observations; that coincidence alone does not specify a probability, entry price or acceptable loss.

Practice: check your understanding on one chart

Open one SW Extreme Balance line and record its position relative to the boundaries. On a selected interval, record how many bars it remains beyond a boundary. Compare that observation with actual price direction.

What the completed observation should contain

SW Extreme Balance line position and time beyond a boundary are distinct observations, not an order.

Primary sources

Sources explain the mechanics and limitations; the editorial examples use invented numbers rather than market quotations.

• What the SW Extreme Balance indicator shows

Sources checked: 2026-10-23

Continue with this topic

• SW Phase Count: a first reading of 9, 13, Setup and Countdown