Concept
Ultimate Oscillator
Ultimate Oscillator is a Momentum & Oscillators concept. The Library holds 3 implementations, each one a working definition you can pull into Quant.
Top Ultimate Oscillator indicators
3 total
What is the Ultimate Oscillator?
The Ultimate Oscillator is Larry Williams's multi-window momentum oscillator, first published in 1985. Each bar it computes buying pressure, the close minus the true low (the lower of the bar's low and the prior close), then sums buying pressure and true range separately over three lookbacks of 7, 14, and 28 bars, dividing one sum by the other for each window. The three ratios are combined with weights of 4, 2, and 1 and scaled to a 0-100 range.
The blend is the design point. Williams built it because single-window oscillators throw divergences and extremes at different times depending on their length; weighting a short window most heavily but anchoring it with two longer ones was his answer to false divergence signals. Readings above 70 and below 30 are the conventional overbought and oversold zones.
How traders use it
- Through Williams's original rule: a bullish divergence whose first low prints below 30, confirmed by a break above the interim high of the divergence (mirrored above 70 for sells). The confirmation step is integral to the method, not optional.
- As a standard overbought/oversold oscillator with 70/30 thresholds, where the blended windows make extreme readings somewhat less frequent than on a single-length oscillator.
- As a confirmation layer alongside faster momentum tools, since the 28-bar component damps one-bar spikes that fool shorter oscillators.
Related concepts · Classic single-name oscillators
Concept family
Momentum & Oscillators
91 concepts mapped · 72 in the Library
Ultimate Oscillator FAQ
What are the standard settings for the Ultimate Oscillator?
Williams's published construction sums buying pressure and true range over 7-, 14-, and 28-bar windows, divides one sum by the other for each window, weights the three ratios 4, 2, and 1, and normalizes to 0-100. Most charting platforms ship those defaults. The proportions matter more than the absolute numbers: the shortest window dominates the reading while the longer two temper it, so changing one length without rebalancing the others changes the oscillator's character.
Why does the Ultimate Oscillator use three timeframes?
Because single-lookback oscillators produce divergences and extremes whose timing depends heavily on the chosen length. Williams blended three horizons so the 7-bar window supplies sensitivity while the 14- and 28-bar windows veto extremes that exist only on the short view. That reduces whipsaw rather than eliminating it; blended or not, momentum extremes still fail in strong trends.
Build Ultimate Oscillator your way.
Quant writes, tests, and refines it with you — then it runs on LuxAlgo charting or ports to TradingView.