What is Connors RSI?
Connors RSI averages three readings, each already on a 0 to 100 scale. The first is a very short RSI of the close, which shows how stretched the last few bars are. The second is an RSI of the streak, the number of consecutive up or down closes, which shows how unusual the current run is. The third is the percentile rank of the latest one-bar return among the last 100, which shows how large today's move is compared with recent history. Because they measure different things, the average is meant to be read as a single short-term stretch reading.
Connors RSI is a short-term measure of how far a move has run. It does not identify the trend, and the indicator draws no overbought or oversold levels of its own.
How to use Connors RSI
- High and low readings. High readings mean the last few bars have been strongly up, the up streak is long and the latest return is large compared with recent ones. Low readings mean the reverse. Traders often use thresholds near 90 and 10, but these are a choice, not part of the indicator.
- Short-term focus. With a 3-bar RSI and a 2-bar streak RSI, the line moves quickly and reaches extremes often. It is mainly used for pullbacks within a larger trend judged by other means.
- The streak component. A long run of closes in one direction pushes the streak RSI towards its extreme, even if each move is small. One close in the other direction resets the run.
- Period lengths. Raising the RSI or streak lengths makes those parts calmer; changing the rank length changes how many bars today's return is compared against.
These are ways to read the line, not entry signals on their own.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| RSI Length | 3 | Bars in the RSI of the close. Higher makes this part smoother and less often extreme. Minimum 1. |
| UpDown Length | 2 | Bars in the RSI of the up/down streak. Higher makes the streak part react less to each new close. Minimum 1. |
| ROC Length | 100 | How many past one-bar returns the latest return is ranked against. Higher means a longer reference period and a later first value. Minimum 1. |
The indicator is always calculated on the close. Adjust the three lengths in the indicator settings.
Calculation
The streak counts consecutive closes in one direction. It is positive during a run of higher closes and negative during a run of lower closes, flips sign cleanly when the direction changes, and resets to 0 on an unchanged close:
streak = close > previous close ? max(previous streak, 0) + 1
: close < previous close ? min(previous streak, 0) - 1
: 0
A = RSI(close, 3)
B = RSI(streak, 2)
C = percent rank of 1-bar % change over 100 bars
CRSI = (A + B + C) / 3A run of four lower closes followed by a higher close gives a streak of +1, not -3. Both RSI parts use Wilder's smoothing, as in the standard RSI. The percent rank is the share of the previous 100 one-bar returns that are at or below the latest one.
The 100-bar rank sets the warm-up: the first one-bar return exists on the second bar and the rank needs 100 of them, so the first Connors RSI value appears on bar 101 of loaded history. On a short history that is a noticeable part of the chart with no line.
Limitations
- Long warm-up. With the default ROC Length of 100, the first 100 bars of loaded history show no value.
- Extremes are frequent. The short lengths make the line reach high and low readings often, including in strong trends where those readings do not lead to a reversal.
- It is three measures blended. A reading of 50 can come from very different combinations of the three parts, so the single number hides what is driving it.
- The live candle moves. The current bar's value, including its streak, changes until that bar closes.
- It depends on timeframe. A streak of five daily closes and a streak of five one-minute closes mean very different things.
Frequently asked questions
Connors RSI is a short-term oscillator that averages three 0 to 100 readings, a 3-bar RSI of the close, a 2-bar RSI of the streak of consecutive up or down closes, and the percentile rank of the latest one-bar return over the last 100 bars. The result is also on a 0 to 100 scale.
High readings mean price has moved up hard and for several bars in a row; low readings mean the reverse. Many traders treat it as a pullback gauge inside a trend they have identified separately, and pick their own thresholds, since the indicator draws no levels.
Yes. The indicator declares three inputs: RSI Length, default 3; UpDown Length, default 2; and ROC Length, default 100, each with a minimum of 1. Open the indicator's settings on the chart to change them. The indicator always uses the close.
The percent rank compares the latest return with the previous 100, so the indicator needs 100 one-bar returns before it can produce a value. With the default settings the first value appears on bar 101 of the loaded history.
Values on bars that have already closed are not revised. The current candle's value moves while that candle is still live and settles when it closes. Its two RSI parts use Wilder's average, which carries earlier bars forward, so loading older history recalculates it and values near the start of the loaded range can shift slightly.
Use the Add to chart button at the top of this page. It opens BTC/USDT on Binance in the Altrady Charts terminal with the built-in Connors RSI already applied. On any other market, open the indicator picker on the chart and choose Connors RSI from the Oscillator group.