Concept
Volume Imbalance
Volume Imbalance is a Smart Money Concepts / ICT concept. The Library holds 3 implementations, each one a working definition you can pull into Quant.
Top Volume Imbalance indicators
3 total
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What is a Volume Imbalance?
A volume imbalance is a gap between the real bodies of two consecutive candles: the first candle's close and the next candle's open leave a span that only wicks traded through. Bodies show daylight; wicks still overlap, so there is no untraded void — price printed there, just thinly and one-sidedly. Despite the name, it is identified from candle bodies alone: no volume data is involved, and the 'volume' refers to the one-sided business the body gap implies.
That body-gap definition is what separates it from its neighbors: a fair value gap is a three-candle, wick-to-wick imbalance, while an opening gap is a two-candle span where not even the wicks touched. Volume imbalances are small and frequent, so they serve as refinement rather than standalone setups: the span is often re-delivered through or acts as a minor level, though neither outcome is guaranteed.
How traders use it
- As micro reference levels: the span is marked and watched on the first return; a touch-and-reject treats it as a small area of support or resistance aligned with the original move.
- As a displacement quality read: a leg that leaves volume imbalances behind shows the same urgency that produces fair value gaps, supporting the case that the move is initiative rather than drift.
- As entry refinement inside larger zones: when a volume imbalance sits at the edge of an order block or a gap, its boundary gives a more precise price to work orders against than the parent zone's full span.
Volume imbalance vs other imbalances
Fair Value Gap: An FVG spans three candles and is measured wick to wick: the first candle's high and the third candle's low never overlap in the bullish case. A volume imbalance spans two candles and is measured body to body, with wicks still overlapping.
Opening Gap: In an opening gap not even the wicks touch, leaving prices where nothing traded at all. In a volume imbalance the wicks did trade through the span (only the bodies separate), making it the milder inefficiency of the two.
Related concepts · Imbalance taxonomy
Concept family
Smart Money Concepts / ICT
54 concepts mapped · 50 in the Library
Volume Imbalance FAQ
What is the difference between a volume imbalance and a fair value gap?
Candle count and measurement. A fair value gap needs three candles and lives where the first candle's wick and the third candle's wick never overlap. A volume imbalance needs only two candles: their bodies show separation while their wicks still overlap, so price did trade there. Both read as one-sided delivery; the FVG is the fuller inefficiency of the two.
Do volume imbalances always get filled?
No. Many are re-delivered through quickly simply because they are small and price passes back across them, but nothing requires it — strong trends leave unfilled volume imbalances behind. Treat the span as a minor reference that may produce a reaction or a quick re-delivery, and let surrounding structure, not the gap alone, carry the trade decision.
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