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Directional Movement Index

Trend, DMI

Directional Movement Index on a BTC/USDT 4h chart on GG Charts
What it shows

Three lines: +DI for the strength of upward moves, -DI for the strength of downward moves, and ADX for the strength of the trend.

How it is built

Each bar's move beyond the previous bar's high or low is measured, smoothed over the period and set against the Average True Range to give +DI and -DI.

Default: ADX smoothing 14, DI length 14.

How traders read it
  • +DI above -DI favours buyers, -DI above +DI favours sellers.
  • The two crossing is the classic signal, stronger when ADX is rising.
  • A low ADX makes crossings less reliable.
History

Directional Movement was published in New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978).

J. Welles Wilder Jr., 1978

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