Discussing the article: "Price Action Analysis Toolkit (Part 55): Designing a CPI Mini-Candle Overlay for Intra-bar Pressure"
You are missing trading opportunities:
- Free trading apps
- Over 8,000 signals for copying
- Economic news for exploring financial markets
Registration
Log in
You agree to website policy and terms of use
If you do not have an account, please register
Check out the new article: Price Action Analysis Toolkit (Part 55): Designing a CPI Mini-Candle Overlay for Intra-bar Pressure.
This article presents the design and MetaTrader 5 implementation of the Candle Pressure Index (CPI)—a CLV-based overlay that visualizes intra-Bar buying and selling pressure directly on price charts. The discussion focuses on candle structure, pressure classification, visualization mechanics, and a non-repainting, transition-based alert system designed for consistent behavior across timeframes and instruments.
Most traders learn to interpret candlesticks using a simple color code: green suggests buying, and red suggests selling. In practice, however, price rarely behaves in such a binary manner. Each candle represents a continuous negotiation between buyers and sellers, and the closing price reflects only where that struggle ended, not how strongly either side dominated during the bar. As a result, two candles may appear similar in color and size while conveying very different information: one may close decisively near the high, signaling sustained buying pressure, while another may finish weakly despite being green.
A helpful analogy is a football match. The final score (for example, 1–0) indicates who won, but it does not describe how the match was played. A team can lose by a single goal while controlling possession, spending most of the game in the opponent’s half, and creating better chances. Candlesticks function similarly. Candle color indicates whether the price closed above or below the open, but it often obscures which side controlled most of the movement within the bar—and how strong that control actually was.
This article introduces Candle Pressure Index Mini-Candles for MetaTrader 5, a compact overlay based on Closing Location Value (CLV) that reveals this hidden information. The indicator measures where price closes within each bar’s range and visualizes the result as mid-anchored mini-candles. Both the direction and size of each mini-candle reflect intra-bar pressure, allowing traders to see whether buying or selling dominated and also how strong that dominance was. Candles are categorized into neutral, mild, and strong pressure zones, with optional arrows highlighting high-pressure bars and event-based alerts signaling strong-zone entries or changes in CPI direction.
Author: Christian Benjamin