Acceleration Bands

Most bands on a chart are sized off a fixed statistic - a percent of price, a multiple of standard deviation, a multiple of ATR. Acceleration Bands are different: the raw band for each bar is High*(1+4*(High-Low)/(High+Low)) on top and Low*(1-4*(High-Low)/(High+Low)) on the bottom, so a bar's own range relative to its own price level sets that bar's contribution before any smoothing happens. The 4x factor is Price Headley's own published constant. Because the ratio is (High-Low)/(High+Low), it scales naturally with the instrument's price level - a five-digit forex pair and a four-digit gold quote both produce a sensible, comparable ratio without any hardcoded pip or point distance anywhere in the calculation. The raw per-bar bands are then run through a simple moving average (the same period as the plotted middle line, a moving average of Close) so the result is a usable line rather than a jagged per-bar envelope. A break above the smoothed upper band, especially alongside a widening gap between upper and lower, is read as confirmation that the current move is accelerating rather than just drifting - the tool's original intended use, distinct from a Bollinger-style mean reversion signal. Notes and limitations - Non-repainting: every bar's raw band is fixed by that bar's own completed High/Low, and the moving average only ever looks backward. - The bands widen with the recent range of price action, not with a separate volatility statistic - a run of unusually wide-range bars widens the bands even if the net move over that time was small. - No alerts or arrows are drawn. This is a visual confirmation tool, meant to be read alongside price action, not a standalone signal generator.

Indicator · MT4 · v1.0 · Free

Tags: Breakout · Moving Average · ATR · Channels & Envelopes · MT4 Indicator · MQL4 Source Code

MetaTrader 4 & 5 indicators · PolyMaria