Technical Analysis

Relative Volume (RVOL)

A metric comparing current trading volume to the stock's average volume for the same time of day, expressed as a multiple (e.g., 2.5x means 2.5 times normal volume).

Explained Simply

Relative volume (RVOL) tells you whether a stock is trading more or less actively than usual. An RVOL of 3.0 means the stock is trading at 3x its typical volume for this time of day. High relative volume (2x+) indicates unusual interest — often driven by news, earnings, or institutional activity — and is one of the strongest filters for day trading candidates. Stocks with high RVOL tend to have tighter spreads, better fills, and more predictable momentum. Low RVOL (below 0.5x) suggests the stock is dead and should be avoided for intraday strategies.

How Tradewink Uses Relative Volume (RVOL)

RVOL is one of the primary filters in Tradewink's DayTradeScreener. Stocks must have RVOL above 1.5x to qualify for day trading signals. The screener calculates RVOL in real-time using the stock's 20-day average volume at each 5-minute interval, ensuring accurate comparisons that account for the natural intraday volume curve (high at open, low midday, higher at close).

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See Relative Volume (RVOL) in action

Tradewink uses relative volume (rvol) as part of its AI trading signal pipeline. Start getting signals that use this concept to find real opportunities.