Up-Thrust
Volume Spread Analysis glossary · Climaxes, Tests, Springs & Upthrusts
Definition
A bar that is marked up on a wide spread during the period—pushing above the previous bar's high—but then collapses to close at or near its low, giving it a telegraph-pole appearance. Volume can be either high (supply overwhelmed demand) or low (the mark-up was on thin air with no demand to support it). True up-thrusts appear when there is weakness in the background—high-volume narrow-spread up-bars closing in the middle, no-demand bars, or visible distribution—and are designed to trap breakout buyers and trigger buy-stops before prices reverse lower. Expect lower prices; further no-demand bars confirm.
Up-Thrust in plain English
An up-thrust is a trap. During the period the price shoots UP past the previous bar's high—looking like an exciting breakout—but then collapses and closes right back down near the bottom, leaving a tall thin spike like a telegraph pole. That spike sucks in eager buyers and trips the automatic 'buy' orders people park just above recent highs, and then the pros sell into all that fresh demand and let the price sink. It only counts as a genuine up-thrust when there's already weakness in the picture beforehand; when you see one, expect lower prices ahead, and a following 'no demand' bar confirms nobody's left to hold it up.
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