Value Area High / Low
Overview
The Value Area is the price range containing approximately 70% of a session's or period's total traded volume. The Value Area High (VAH) is the upper boundary and Value Area Low (VAL) is the lower boundary. These levels act as dynamic support/resistance and are central to market profile and volume profile trading strategies.
Key Concepts
Value Area covers ~70% of total volume, VAH = upper boundary (resistance), VAL = lower boundary (support), Opening inside value suggests range-bound day, Opening outside value suggests trending day, Value area overlap between sessions shows acceptance zones
Entry Signals
Buy at yesterday's VAL if opening inside value, Short at yesterday's VAH if opening inside value, Breakout above VAH with conviction = long trend trade, Breakdown below VAL with conviction = short trend trade, Open within value but migrating = fade to the opposing VA boundary
Exit Signals
Rotation target: opposite value area boundary (VAL → VAH or VAH → VAL), Trending target: next session's value area, Stop beyond the VA boundary + buffer (or within the first LVN beyond VA)
Best Timeframes
30M for session profile; combine with daily composite
Pro Tips
The '80% rule' — if price opens outside the value area and then re-enters, there's an 80% probability it will traverse the entire value area to the other side. This is one of market profile's most reliable setups.
More Topics in This Category
Delta & Cumulative Delta
Delta is the difference between aggressive buying volume (market orders hitting the ask) and aggressive selling volume (market orders hitting the bid) within a candle or time period. Cumulative delta tracks the running total over time. Divergence between price and cumulative delta reveals whether rallies/selloffs have genuine buyer/seller conviction.
Volume Profile Analysis
Volume Profile displays the total volume traded at each price level over a specified period (session, week, month, or visible range). Unlike time-based volume histograms, volume profile shows WHERE trading activity concentrated. Key levels include the Point of Control (POC), Value Area, and High/Low Volume Nodes.
Market Profile
Market Profile organises price data into 30-minute periods called TPOs (Time Price Opportunities), creating a bell-curve distribution that reveals market behaviour patterns. Developed by J. Peter Steidlmayer at the CBOT, Market Profile identifies day types (Normal, Trend, Double Distribution, etc.) and provides a statistical framework for understanding auction market theory.
Footprint Charts
Footprint charts display the actual volume traded at each price level within a candle, broken down by aggressive buyers (market orders hitting the ask) and aggressive sellers (market orders hitting the bid). This granular view reveals exactly where buying and selling pressure occurs, exposing absorption, exhaustion, and imbalance patterns invisible on standard charts.