Trading strategies
Relative volume (RVOL)
Definition
Current volume divided by average volume for the same period. 1 is normal, above 1 is busier than usual, below 1 is quieter.
Example
Say a stock usually trades 200,000 shares in its first 15 minutes, and today 600,000 shares change hands in that window. RVOL is 600,000 ÷ 200,000 = 3, three times the normal activity for that time of day. Divided by the full-day average of 2 million shares instead, the same busy morning would wrongly read 0.3 and look quiet.
Hypothetical numbers, for illustration only.
Also defined in
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