Forex data shows the bid/ask price of a currency pair, along with a timestamp, giving traders insights into market activity over a specific period and helping them assess volume.
A bid price. An ask price. A timestamp. And a lot of entries. These might not sound like much, but this information can help forex traders better understand the market, confirm trends, spot reversals, find breakouts, and more. Collectively, these are known as forex tick data, and in this guide, we’ll show you how it works and how to apply it to a trading system.
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Key takeaways
- Forex tick data captures every price change, including the timestamp and bid/ask value. This tick-by-tick data provides traders with a valuable source of forex information for analyzing market movements across various periods and currency pairs.
- Tick volume in forex works differently, but it still reflects market activity. Instead of counting contracts like futures or commodities, tick volume data tracks price changes that typically correlate with actual trading volume.
- Traders can build effective trading strategies using forex volume data. This includes strategies for confirming trends, spotting reversals, and backtesting ideas on historical forex data or other reliable datasets.
- Most trading platforms offer built-in volume indicators for market analysis. Users can access tools, charts, and historical data—such as downloadable CSV files from the Exness history center—to import data, review accuracy, and support stronger trading performance.
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What is forex volume and tick data?
Tick data is pricing data that presents every bid and ask price. Upticks represent a single tick price increase; downticks represent a decrease, and each movement shows the execution time, often in GMT.
It’s forex historical data on a granular level.
Tick data can also be used to assess trading volume. In this case, rather than showing the total traded contracts, as with futures or stocks, it focuses on price changes, helping traders assess market activity, confirm trends, and judge the strength of price movements.
How to get tick data
Forex data won’t tell you anything if it’s inaccurate or corrupt, and as you’re dealing with tick-by-tick data that could include millions of entries, high-quality data is hard to find and process.
An Excel spreadsheet will only get you so far, whereas a program like OpenRefine, previously known as Google Refine, provides a free way to organize and clean vast datasets.
Download reliable tick data through the Exness trading platform or through our forex history center and import data to OpenRefine. Choose your currency pair and time period, and then download. You can download data across various currency pairs going back several years.
The download comes in ZIP format and contains a CSV that you can import into OpenRefine.
If you have any issues, send us a message.
How to calculate tick volume
There is no centralized exchange in forex trading, which means there’s no way to see the number of units traded. For this reason, “volume” refers to tick volume, and you visualize it using various volume indicators built into popular trading platforms:
- Exness Terminal: Click “Indicators” to see a full list of available trading indicators, such as “On-Balance Volume (OBV)”.
- MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5: On the “Insert” menu, choose “Indicators” and then select “Volumes”.
Open a free Exness trading account to use these platforms. Learn the ropes with a demo account that includes all of the same indicators, charts, tools, and market conditions available to real-money traders.
Why forex volume data matters
Volume matters in all forms of trading, whether it’s forex, stocks, or commodities. It provides insights into market activity while showing the true strength of price movements.
For example, if a price movement is accompanied by high trading volume, it indicates that more traders are getting behind it. From this, traders can deduce that the price is more likely to continue in that direction.
Forex tick data functions differently when it comes to volume, as it only records price changes. However, it still serves as a reliable representation of market activity and typically correlates with trading volume.
Using forex volume indicators
There are several ways to utilize tick data in forex trading, which apply to both live trading, where traders actively buy and sell, and backtesting, where traders test their strategies using historical datasets. These are the most common trading strategies using forex volume data:
Confirming trends and identifying reversals
Forex tick data is a good source of information for validating trends. Strong upward movements indicate heightened market activity and suggest positive, sustained uptrends. However, if the activity ticks downwards, especially after significant uptrends, it could hint that a reversal is on the way and the market will switch to bearish.
Finding breakout situations
Breakouts occur when the market breaks beyond a defined support (lower) and resistance (higher) level. The price has remained within these levels for some time, rising and falling without breaking through. An increased tick volume means the market is rallying, and there is potentially enough activity to break through.
Divergence analysis
Divergence analysis is the process of using forex tick data and technical indicators, like RSI, to identify discrepancies where the price moves one way but the indicator moves in another. It signals weakened support for a current trend.
How to trade with forex volume data
Quality data is key when trading forex, as your strategy won’t work if you’re basing it on corrupt or incomplete files. There are also various tools that can help you fully utilize this data. If you’re using forex volume data to trade currency pairs, keep these tips in mind:
Source quality forex tick data
If the data is wrong or there are significant gaps, your trading performance will suffer. Source data from reliable sources, such as Exness. Run the files through OpenRefine, which can handle various formats, and review them to confirm accuracy.
Use volume indicators
Trading platforms offer various options for visualizing forex volume data, helping analysts to make sense of price movements:
- Raw volume: Shows each tick as a candle/bar.
- On-Balance Volume (OBV): Adds volume when the price closes high and subtracts it when it closes lower.
- Accumulation/Distribution line: Analyzes the flow of money in and out of a currency pair.
Use tools and analysis
Combine forex tick data analysis with a technical or fundamental analysis, use various indicators and tools, and try to get a better read on the market. Visit the Economic Calendar section of our website to learn about upcoming events that may affect price movements.
Trading glossary
Tick data
Tick data is tick-by-tick forex data that records every change in bid and ask price, often with a GMT timestamp. It’s a good source of historical forex data for traders, analysts, and anyone creating or testing trading strategies across different periods and currency pairs.
Tick volume
Tick volume measures how many times the price ticks up or down during a period, offering a reliable way to gauge market activity when actual volume isn’t available, unlike in commodities or futures. Traders use this data in charts and indicators to review trends, detect gaps, and improve strategy performance.
Breakout
A breakout occurs when the price moves beyond a long-standing support or resistance level, signaling a potential change in market behavior. Forex volume data and historical data help users test strategies, backtest examples, and apply tools that confirm whether a breakout is strong or weak.
Divergence
Divergence happens when the price of a currency pair moves in one direction while an indicator—such as RSI or OBV—moves in another. It’s a key concept in trading analysis, helping traders review forex data, identify weakening trends, and create strategies using reliable historical forex data or charts from platforms like MetaTrader.
On-Balance Volume (OBV)
OBV is a volume-based indicator that adds or subtracts tick volume based on whether the price closes higher or lower. It helps traders analyze momentum, test systems during backtesting, and import data (such as CSV files from a history center) into tools or spreadsheets for deeper review.
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Final thoughts
Forex volume data and tick data give traders an in-depth look into how the market moves, providing insights that can strengthen both live trading and backtesting. By reviewing reliable historical forex data, applying volume indicators, and developing trading strategies based on tick-by-tick price changes, traders can gain a deeper understanding of momentum, confirm trends, and anticipate potential reversals. Whether you import data into tools like Excel or analyze charts within MetaTrader or the Exness Terminal, the key is working with accurate, high-quality files from trusted sources. With the right approach and data, you can create a more informed and resilient trading system that evolves with changing market conditions.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is forex volume data compared to real trading volume?
Unlike futures or commodities, forex volume data is based on tick movements rather than the total contracts traded. While it doesn’t show exact trade size, tick-by-tick data is still a reliable indicator of market activity and is widely used in trading strategies, technical analysis, and backtesting with historical forex data.
Where can I download historical forex data or tick data for backtesting?
Traders can download historical data, including CSV files with tick data for various currency pairs, from the Exness website or through platforms like MetaTrader. These datasets are available in different formats that users can import into Excel or other tools to review, test, and refine their trading strategies.
How do I use tick volume indicators when trading forex?
Tick volume indicators show how often price values change within a given period. These help traders confirm trends, spot reversals, and improve overall system performance. Most platforms offer free built-in options—simply click the indicators section in MetaTrader or the Exness Terminal to apply volume tools to your charts.
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