Volume Footprint Explained: Bid Ask, Delta, CVD and Imbalances
A footprint chart splits every candle into its two warring halves: sellers on the left, buyers on the right, at every price level. It answers the question candlesticks cannot — at the exact price you care about, who is in control? Here is how to read it, with the free MT5 footprint indicator.
Table of Contents
Bid/Ask Rows — the Two-Sided Candle
Each candle gets a vertical ladder of price rows. Every row shows two numbers: bid volume (left, red) — volume sold aggressively into the bid — and ask volume (right, blue) — volume bought aggressively by lifting the ask. The row colors darken toward the busiest cell of the window, so a glance shows where the real business happened.
Single-number rule: at the current price row, ask greater than bid = buyers in control; bid greater than ask = sellers in control. That one comparison is the entire entry question, compressed.
Delta — Who Wins Each Row
Delta = Ask volume minus Bid volume. It is computed per row, per bar, and per session. A positive delta at your entry row means aggressive buyers are dominating that exact price; negative means sellers. The info line under each candle prints the bar totals (T/B/A/D/D%) and the per-row numbers show the signed delta beside the volumes.
The most valuable use is delta at extremes: a huge negative delta at a new low that price refuses to follow is the fingerprint of absorption — sellers doing their worst and losing.
Session CVD — the Running Vote
CVD accumulates delta across the session (reset daily on intraday charts). It is the market running referendum: rising CVD with rising price = confirmed participation; price rising while CVD falls = divergence — the move lacks committed buyers.
300% Imbalances and Stacked Zones
An imbalance is measured diagonally, the classical way: a row has a buy imbalance when its ask volume is at least 300% of the bid volume one row below; a sell imbalance when its bid volume is at least 300% of the ask one row above. The indicator draws a blue line right of buy-imbalanced rows and a red line left of sell-imbalanced rows.
When three or more consecutive rows imbalance on the same side, the indicator marks a stacked zone — committed aggressive volume that tends to defend on retests. Stacked zones are simultaneously your best entry levels (buy the retest) and your best targets (price travels to them).
Absorption, Exhaustion, Divergence
- ABS+ / ABS− — heavy aggressive volume at an extreme with a strong rejection: one side did its worst and the market refused to continue. Marked with * because it is a heuristic needing tick-level confirmation.
- EXH-H / EXH-L — the highest-volume row sits exactly at the extreme with volume at least 2× the median and a 30% pullback: the auction is complete, the extreme is exhausted.
- DIV+ / DIV− — 3-bar swing comparison: price makes a lower low but the 3-bar delta sum makes a higher low (bullish), or the mirror (bearish). Divergence between price and committed flow.
TRUE vs ESTIMATED Mode
The indicator is honest about its data. On brokers with a real trade tape it runs in TRUE mode using actual aggressor flags. On most retail forex/CFD brokers there is no tape, so it runs ESTIMATED — tick-direction estimation, labeled on the chart and per bar with the [EST%] tag. Trading rule: halve position size in ESTIMATED mode; the signal is directional context, not institutional truth.
The BUY / SELL / WAIT Signal
The signal module prints one line to the Experts tab whenever the picture changes:
VFP SIGNAL: BUY GBPJPYm @ 215.60 | SL 215.31 (-29 pips) | TP 216.01 (+41 pips) | R:R 1.4 VFP SIGNAL: WAIT GBPJPYm @ 215.60 | sell imbalance right above price
A BUY requires the row delta positive, bar delta positive, session CVD positive, price above POC and VAL, and no sell imbalance overhead — the mirror defines SELL. Everything else prints WAIT with the reason. SL is the VAL for buys (VAH for sells), TP the opposite boundary — always with pip-accurate values and R:R.
FAQ
What is a volume footprint chart?
A chart type that splits each candle into a vertical ladder of price rows showing bid volume on the left and ask volume on the right at every level, so you can see which side controlled each price.
What does delta tell you in a footprint?
Delta is ask minus bid volume. Positive means aggressive buyers dominated; negative means aggressive sellers did. It is the fastest way to see who is winning at a specific price.
Why does my indicator say ESTIMATED?
Your broker does not publish real trade tape, so the indicator estimates buy/sell from tick direction and labels it honestly. On brokers with real aggressor flags it switches to TRUE automatically.
What is a stacked imbalance?
Three or more consecutive price rows imbalanced on the same side. It marks a zone of committed aggressive volume that often defends on retests — a prime reaction level.
Can I trust the BUY/SELL signal on its own?
Use it as order-flow context and execution discipline, not a profit guarantee. Pair it with the volume profile indicator for the macro bias — see our 25 confluence setups article.