Trend Intensity Index

Trend Intensity Index grades how one-sided a market has been against its own average. Each bar's deviation from a simple moving average is split by sign, a recent window is summed on each side, and the upside share plots from 0 to 100 — the first faithful build of the Trend Intensity Index as Pee specified it. The line colors bullish above the 50 midline and bearish below, a gradient fill anchors it to 50, and dashed trend levels sit at 20 and 80.

How to Trade the Trend Intensity Index?

• Above the Upper Level: readings over 80 grade as an established uptrend — the classic gate restricting a trend system to its long signals; the crossing up and the roll back down both carry alerts.
• Below the Lower Level: the mirrored downtrend read, with its own fading alert when the reading recovers above 20.
• Midline cross: the dominant side of the average flips; optional circles mark the spot and alerts cover both directions even with markers hidden.

Trend Intensity Index Settings

• Source (default close): series measured against its own moving average, per the original specification.
• MA Length (default 60): bars in the simple moving average deviations are measured from.
• Deviation Window (default 30): recent bars whose deviations are accumulated, conventionally half the MA length.
• Method (default Deviation Magnitudes): sums deviation sizes per the original design, so a market hugging its average from above still grades as trending; Bar Count counts bars on each side instead.
• Upper Level (default 80) and Lower Level (default 20): established-trend thresholds — conventions, not optimized values.
• Style: Established Trend Background (off) and Midline Cross Markers (off).

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the TII differ from the Average Directional Index?

The Average Directional Index measures trend strength without direction and needs its DI lines to say which way. The TII carries direction in the reading itself — above 50 means upside dominance — and its bounded scale actually reaches its extremes.

Should I change the 60/30 defaults?

The published pairing sets the deviation window at half the moving average length; a 30/15 pairing responds sooner but flips regime more often on noise. Keeping the ratio and changing the chart timeframe is often the cleaner adjustment.

Why does a strong trend stay near 100 for so long?

Because the index measures persistence rather than speed: while nearly every deviation lands above the average, the upside share stays saturated no matter how small the bars are. The informative moments are the level crossings, not time pinned at an extreme.