TradingIntermediate#Technical Analysis#Volume
Point of Control (POC)
P
Definition
The price bin with the highest reported traded volume in a selected volume-profile calculation. It depends on the venue, data, binning method, and time window chosen.
Source reviewed
- CFTC: Trading system warning opens in a new tab
Supports: CFTC explains that historical-data trading systems cannot guarantee profits, supporting an out-of-sample evaluation instead of certainty from a past volume profile.
Concept Diagram
Key Takeaways
1
POC is the highest reported-volume price bin in a disclosed profile calculation
2
Its value changes with venue data, time window, aggregation, and binning choices
3
A revisit or departure does not prove a magnetic effect, fair value, or future direction
4
Test any POC rule out of sample with realistic execution assumptions
Practical Example
A researcher defines an exchange, session, bin width, and trade-data source, then finds the bin with the highest reported volume. They record whether a later rule performs across future samples with costs and losses; they do not call the bin fair value or assume price must revisit it.
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Related Terms
Market Structure
Premium & Discount ZonesInformal labels for the lower and upper portions of a user-defined price range, often split at its midpoint. They describe relative position within that selected range, not intrinsic value or a buy or sell instruction.
Market Structure
Order Block (OB)An informal chart zone, often drawn from a candle or range preceding a later move. It does not identify an order, its owner, its size, or an institutional entry point.
Trading
VWAP (Volume Weighted Average Price)A price-volume average calculated over a specified venue, asset, data source, and time window. It is a descriptive benchmark, not a universal fair value or trading signal.
Trading
Candlestick ChartA chart that summarizes the open, high, low, and close recorded for a chosen market, data feed, and time interval. It describes past price observations; it does not reveal the identities, motives, or future actions of market participants.
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