Relative Vigor Index (RVI)

An oscillator comparing where bars close within their range, smoothed with symmetric weighting — not to be confused with the Relative Volatility Index.

What it is

The Relative Vigor Index (RVI), popularized by John Ehlers in a 2002 Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities article, is built on a simple observation: in periods of upward pressure, bars tend to close above their open, and in downward pressure, below it. RVI measures this by comparing the close-minus-open difference to the high-minus-low range, both smoothed, producing an oscillator around zero with a companion signal line. One disambiguation matters and is routinely skipped: RVI shares its acronym with Donald Dorsey's Relative Volatility Index (1993), a completely different indicator that applies RSI-style math to standard deviation instead of price change. MetaTrader's built-in 'RVI' is the Relative Vigor Index described here; charting platforms and articles frequently conflate the two, so always check which formula is behind the label before comparing values. Like every oscillator, RVI describes recent price behavior — where closes sat within their bars — and predicts nothing about future price. This entry is educational material, not financial advice, and all trading carries risk of loss.

How it works

Each bar contributes two raw quantities: the numerator input (close − open) and the denominator input (high − low). Both are first smoothed with a symmetric 4-bar weighted average using weights 1, 2, 2, 1 (divided by 6) — in Pine this is exactly ta.swma. The smoothed numerators and denominators are then each summed over the lookback period (10 by default), and RVI is the ratio: total smoothed close-open displacement divided by total smoothed range. When closes cluster near the highs of their bars, the ratio is positive and rising; when closes sit near the lows, it turns negative. A signal line is produced by applying the same symmetric 1-2-2-1 weighting to the RVI line itself. Two structural details are worth knowing. First, the symmetric weighting is a smoothing filter, and smoothing means lag — the four-bar window centers its weight roughly 1.5 bars in the past, and the summation adds more. Second, because the denominator is the traded range, RVI is naturally normalized: a wide-range bar and a narrow-range bar with the same close-to-open proportion contribute similarly, which distinguishes RVI from raw momentum measures that scale with volatility.

How traders read it

• Sign and level: RVI above zero means closes have on balance sat above opens over the window (often read as upward pressure); below zero, the reverse. These are descriptions of past bars, not instructions.
• Signal-line crossings: RVI crossing its 1-2-2-1-weighted signal line is the conventional reading of shifting momentum; in quiet or choppy markets these crossings occur constantly and carry little information.
• Divergence: price making a new high while RVI makes a lower high is sometimes read as closes no longer finishing strong within their bars; divergences can persist for many bars without a reversal.
• No fixed bounds: RVI is not confined to a fixed scale like RSI, so 'high' and 'low' readings are relative to the instrument and timeframe — there are no universal overbought/oversold levels.
• Check which RVI you have: if the indicator on your platform ranges 0–100 with 40/60-style bands, it is Dorsey's Relative Volatility Index, not this indicator — the two are not comparable.
• Gap sensitivity: because the numerator uses close minus open, instruments that gap heavily (or 24-hour markets with no meaningful open gaps) give RVI a different character than clean session-based charts.

Common settings

Length 10 is the standard default for the summation window, with the signal line fixed as a 4-bar symmetric (1-2-2-1) weighted average of the RVI line. Shorter lengths make both lines more reactive and the crossings more frequent; longer lengths smooth the picture at the cost of additional lag. MetaTrader's built-in RVI uses the same construction. There are no standard overbought/oversold bands, since the oscillator is unbounded.

Strengths

• Uses information most momentum oscillators ignore — where the close sits relative to the open and the bar's range — rather than only close-to-close changes.
• Range normalization in the denominator keeps readings comparable across volatile and quiet stretches of the same chart.
• The symmetric 1-2-2-1 smoothing produces a visibly smoother line than raw close-open differences, making the oscillator easy to read.
• Fully deterministic and simple to verify: every component is a fixed-weight average and a sum.
• Built into MetaTrader and simple to port exactly, which makes cross-platform verification straightforward.

Pitfalls to watch

• Acronym trap: the Relative Vigor Index and Dorsey's Relative Volatility Index are different indicators sharing 'RVI' — comparing readings or copying settings between them is meaningless.
• Lag by construction: two layers of smoothing (the 1-2-2-1 filter plus the summation window) mean the line describes conditions centered several bars in the past.
• Whipsaw in ranges: signal-line crossings are frequent in sideways markets, and reading each one as meaningful produces a stream of conflicting observations.
• Open-price dependence: on markets where the open is synthetic or equals the prior close (many 24-hour feeds), the close-open numerator behaves differently than on session-based markets, so behavior does not transfer cleanly across asset classes.
• Zero-range bars: if high equals low across the window the denominator is zero and implementations must guard the division.
• No predictive power: RVI describes where recent closes fell within their bars; it does not forecast direction, and no setting changes that. Trading involves risk of loss.

Pine v6 example

//@version=6
indicator("RVI Example", overlay = false)

length = input.int(10, "Length", minval = 1)

// Symmetric 1-2-2-1 weighting (ta.swma), then summed over the window
num = math.sum(ta.swma(close - open), length)
den = math.sum(ta.swma(high - low), length)

rvi = den == 0 ? 0.0 : num / den
sig = ta.swma(rvi)

crossUp   = ta.crossover(rvi, sig) and barstate.isconfirmed
crossDown = ta.crossunder(rvi, sig) and barstate.isconfirmed

plot(rvi, "RVI",    color = color.blue)
plot(sig, "Signal", color = color.orange)
hline(0, "Zero", color = color.gray)

alertcondition(crossUp,   "RVI above signal", "RVI crossed above its signal line on a confirmed bar")
alertcondition(crossDown, "RVI below signal", "RVI crossed below its signal line on a confirmed bar")

Pro tip: Before using anything labeled 'RVI', verify the formula: if it oscillates around zero and is built from close-minus-open over high-minus-low, it is the Relative Vigor Index; if it lives on a 0–100 scale built from standard deviation, it is Dorsey's Relative Volatility Index. The two answer different questions, and settings or interpretations do not transfer between them. As always, read the oscillator as context alongside price structure — this is educational content only, no indicator is predictive, and trading carries risk of loss.

Educational only — not financial advice, not a recommendation to trade. No indicator is predictive; trading involves substantial risk of loss.