Zig Zag Indicator on Gold

What it shows

One line drawn on the price chart itself, not in a pane. Each corner of the line is a swing high or a swing low that the code kept. With Draw to the latest close on, a final segment runs from the last corner to the latest close.

How Pravex works it out

1. Halve the candles checked around a swing, rounded down: 5 at the default of 10, and never less than 1.
2. A candle is a swing high when no candle within that many candles on either side has a higher high. A swing low is the same with lows.
3. Walk the chart from left to right. A swing of the same kind as the last kept point replaces it if it goes further.
4. A swing of the other kind is kept only when it sits at least the reversal percentage away from the last kept point.
5. With a 5% rule and invented prices, a swing low that is 3% under the last high is ignored, and one that is 6% under is kept as a new corner.

Settings

Setting	Default	What changing it does
Move needed to reverse (%)	5	How far price must move away from the last corner before a turn counts. A bigger number gives fewer, longer segments; a smaller one keeps more of the small swings.
Candles checked around a swing	10	How many candles are checked around a possible swing, half on each side. A larger number demands a clearer peak or trough, and each swing is confirmed later.
Draw to the latest close	On	Draws the last segment from the final corner to the latest close. Off, the line stops at the last confirmed corner.

How traders read it

The line is a map of past swings. It shows at a glance whether swing highs and lows are rising or falling, and where price turned before.

Corners are good places to draw support and resistance lines, because each one is a turn that really exceeded your percentage rule.

The last segment is not final. A swing needs candles after it to be confirmed, so the newest leg can move or vanish while price is still going. Do not treat the live corner as a signal.

When it misleads

The Zig Zag looks backward. Every corner is only known after price has already moved away from it, so it cannot warn you about a turn at the moment it happens. The newest leg redraws until it is confirmed, which means a screenshot from earlier can look different today. A 5% rule on gold is wide: on 4-hour candles it can take weeks to produce a new corner in a calm stretch, and a smaller number will fill the chart with segments.

Questions and answers

Does the Zig Zag repaint?

Its last corner does, in two ways. A peak only counts once 5 candles on each side are lower, so the corner appears 5 candles late. And if price later makes a higher high before a 5% drop, the code moves that corner forward to the new high, so the last leg is redrawn. Corners that a 5% reversal has already followed stay put.

What percentage suits gold on the Zig Zag?

Pravex starts at 5% with 10 candles checked, which on 4-hour gold only marks the big swings. Try 1% or 2% on hourly candles to see the day-to-day turns.

Can the Zig Zag predict price?

No. It draws what has already happened and leaves out the noise. It helps you read the structure of the chart.

Why does the line run to the current price?

Draw to the latest close is on by default, so a last segment joins the final corner to the newest close and moves with it. Switch it off to see only the corners.

Related: Detrended Price Oscillator, Chande Kroll Stop, Rank Correlation Index, every indicator.