Definition
#Measures where current price sits relative to the previous complete UTC day's value area boundaries. The value area is the main accepted volume zone around POC, bounded by VAL and VAH.
Formula & calculation
#Build yesterday's Value Area from the completed UTC session profile.
If current price is between VAL and VAH:
If price is below VAL:
If price is above VAH:
If current price is between VAL and VAH:
distance = 0If price is below VAL:
(current_price - VAL) / current_price × 100If price is above VAH:
(current_price - VAH) / current_price × 100Units & range
%. Negative means below VAL, 0 means inside yesterday's value area, positive means above VAH.
Interpretation
#The signed value replaces a separate below/inside/above selector. Negative locates price below value, zero means inside value, and positive locates price above value.
Practical usage
#Use
between -0.10 and 0.10 for price very close to value, gt 0 for above VAH, or lt 0 for below VAL.Common mistakes
#Frequent interpretation traps and misuse patterns to avoid when applying this metric.
- Looking for a separate position field. Signed distance already carries below, inside, and above information.
- Assuming distance to value area is a trigger. It is a location filter that needs live confirmation.
- Forgetting that zero includes the entire value area, not only the midpoint.