# Volume Dry-up Volume Dry-up is an indicator on [Vela](https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart), our next-generation charting platform, written in Pine Script®. Flags sessions whose turnover contracts to a fraction of its 50-bar average, with an optional range-contraction pair and pivot proximity filter. The lightest print of the base lookback earns the extreme dry-up (VDU) tag, and a 1.5x expansion within a 5-bar window resolves the quiet as a bullish expansion or bearish break, marked on both the volume pane and the price chart. - Indicator in the LuxAlgo Library, by LuxAlgo, published Jun 8, 2026. - Access: free. - Concepts: [Volume Dry-up](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/volume-dry-up/) (primary) - Open on Vela: https://vela.luxalgo.com/chart?pineScriptCodeId=z555xk2ftsjxt63ke48qidzt - Page: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-dry-up/ **Volume Dry-up** finds sessions where turnover quietly disappears (the [volume dry-up](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/concept/volume-dry-up/) growth-stock methods read as supply exhaustion), then watches for the expansion that answers it. A confirmed session qualifies when volume prints at or below half its 50-bar average, optionally with a contracting high-low spread; the lightest print of the lookback earns the extreme dry-up (VDU) tag. Qualified sessions color the columns, tint the price chart, and arm a resolution window: decisive expansion within 5 bars is graded bullish or bearish. ## How to Trade the Volume Dry-up? - **Dry-up columns**: dormancy, not a signal. Read the tinted bars against the price structure they sit in. - **VDU dot**: the quietest trade of the entire lookback, the extreme read late in a base. - **Bullish Expansion triangle**: an up close on at least 1.5x average volume inside the window, the constructive resolution. - **Bearish Break triangle**: heavy volume on a down close. Supply answered the test; the constructive read is invalidated. All four events carry alerts; the dashboard tracks relative volume, bar spread, the dry-up count, and the sequence state. ## Volume Dry-up Settings - **Volume Baseline** (default 50): bars in the volume and spread averages that stand in for normal. - **Dry-up Threshold** (default 0.5): baseline fraction at or below which a session qualifies. - **Base Lookback** (default 50): window for the VDU tag, pivot filter, and dry-up count. - **Range Contraction** (default enabled, fraction 1): the bar's spread must sit at or below that fraction of its average. - **Pivot Proximity Filter** (default disabled, distance 5): only qualify quiet sessions closing within 5% of the lookback high. - **Expansion Multiple** (default 1.5), **Resolution Window** (default 5): what counts as decisive expansion and how long the link stays live. - Dashboard and style toggles cover the panel, chart markers, and the dry-up tint. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How does this relate to the Volatility Contraction Pattern? The [Volatility Contraction Pattern](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volatility-contraction-pattern/) tracks the price side of a tightening base; this build reads the volume side. Enabling Range Contraction demands both halves on the qualifying bar. ### Is a dry-up a buy signal? No. The quiet is a precondition; the trigger is the linked expansion, and it can resolve either way: heavy selling into a quiet base settles the supply test in the sellers' favor. ### When should I enable the Pivot Proximity Filter? When screening for breakout candidates. Quiet near the top of the base is the constructive location. Leave it off to also surface pullback dry-ups and quiet retests of a low, where location is read from the chart. ## Related indicators - [Volume Bubbles & Liquidity Heatmap](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-bubbles-liquidity-heatmap/) (Volume Spike): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-bubbles-liquidity-heatmap.md - [Support and Resistance Levels with Breaks](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/support-and-resistance-levels-with-breaks/) (Volume at Breakout): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/support-and-resistance-levels-with-breaks.md - [HTF Volume Spike & Imbalance Projection](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/htf-volume-spike-imbalance-projection/) (Volume Spike): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/htf-volume-spike-imbalance-projection.md - [Session Volume Moving Average](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/session-volume-moving-average/) (Relative Volume): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/session-volume-moving-average.md - [Volumetric Toolkit](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volumetric-toolkit/) (Volume Spike): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volumetric-toolkit.md - [Luminance Breakout Engine](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/luminance-breakout-engine/) (Volume at Breakout): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/luminance-breakout-engine.md - [Volume Surprise](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-surprise/) (Relative Volume): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-surprise.md - [Volume by Time](https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-by-time/) (Relative Volume): markdown at https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-by-time.md --- Source: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/indicator/volume-dry-up/ (LuxAlgo Library). Free to use with attribution: https://www.luxalgo.com/library/license/