# VWAP

> Volume-weighted average price since the start of the current anchor period: minute, hour, day, week, month or trading session.

Updated: 2026-10-25T00:01:52.000Z · https://chartrider.com/docs/indicators/vwap/

## What you see
A line on the price chart that starts over at each new anchor period and then follows the volume-weighted average price of that period. Each restart shows as a jump.

## How it is calculated
For every candle of the current anchor period:
- Typical price `TP = (open + high + low + close) / 4`.
- `VWAP = sum of (TP × volume) / sum of volume`, summed from the first candle of the period up to and including the current one.

The anchor decides when the sums restart. All times are UTC:
- `minute`, `hour`, `day`, `week`, `month`: calendar units. The multiplier groups several units, counted from the start of the next larger unit: 15 minutes restarts at :00, :15, :30 and :45; 4 hours at 00:00, 04:00, 08:00 and so on; days count from 1 January, weeks (Monday to Sunday) from the first ISO week of the year, months from January (3 = quarters).
- `session`: restarts at each session start, Asia at 00:00, London at 08:00 and New York at 14:30 UTC; in summer time London (European dates) and New York (US dates) start one hour earlier. The multiplier has no effect.

The VWAP uses candle volume, so results differ slightly between chart timeframes. Pick an anchor longer than the chart timeframe; otherwise every candle starts a new period and the line only shows the candle's average price.

## How to read it
- Price above the VWAP: buyers have paid more than the period's average price; below it sellers dominate.
- Many traders treat the daily VWAP as fair value: trend days stay on one side of it, range days rotate around it.
- Pullbacks to the VWAP in a trend, and stretched moves away from it, are common setups.

## Using it in strategies
Output: `value` (a price). In the [Trade Setup](https://chartrider.com/docs/strategies/trade-setup/), "Price vs line" allows longs only above and shorts only below the VWAP; `x %` adds a minimum distance. In [WickScript](https://chartrider.com/docs/wickscript/) the series `vwap` is the VWAP of the UTC day, and the function `vwap(anchor, amount)` takes the same anchors as text, e.g. `vwap("week")` or `vwap("hour", 4)`. You can also use `use indicator "VWAP" with vwapUnit "session" as v` and read `v.value`.

## Settings

Open the settings with the slider icon next to the indicator (Indicators, `F3`). Numeric settings can be swept as Step 1 / Step 2 parameters when you run a strategy.

### Inputs

| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| VWAP anchor unit | Choice | Day | Calendar unit (UTC) or trading session after which the VWAP starts over. Options: Minute, Hour, Day, Week, Month, Session. |
| VWAP anchor time unit amount multiplier | Number | `1` | Number of anchor units per period, counted from the start of the next larger unit (e.g. 4 with hour gives 4-hour periods from 00:00 UTC). Ignored for session. (min 1) |

### Styles

| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line Color | Color | `#c1af6c` |  |

## Outputs

These values can be used in Trade Setup triggers, filters and exits (see [Trade Setup](https://chartrider.com/docs/strategies/trade-setup/)) and in WickScript.

| Output | In WickScript | Description |
|---|---|---|
| value | `value` |  |

## Use in WickScript

`use indicator` creates this indicator inside a script, with settings by their ID. Each output is a field of the name after `as`. See [WickScript indicators](https://chartrider.com/docs/wickscript/indicators/).

```wickscript
wickscript 1
indicator "VWAP from the list" on chart
use indicator "VWAP" with vwapUnitAmount 1 as myVwap
show myVwap.value as line "value"
```