Value Area High
Order Flow Analysis glossary · Footprint & Delta Analysis
Definition
The upper boundary of the value area — the highest price within the range that contains 70% of a session's volume. The VAH typically acts as resistance when approached from below and as support when the market opens above the value area. If price pulls back to VAH and the footprint shows stacked buying imbalances, the level is being defended and confirms an initiative-buyer regime.
Value Area High in plain English
During a trading day, most buying and selling clusters inside one price band — the range where roughly 70% of the day's trading happened. Traders call that band the "value area": the prices the crowd basically agreed were fair. The Value Area High (VAH) is simply the top edge of that fair zone. It matters because prices tend to respect that edge — like the ceiling of a room the crowd is comfortable in; when price rises back up to it from below, it often gets pushed back down (resistance), but if the crowd has moved above it, that same edge can become a floor (support).
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