Support and resistance
The price levels where buyers and sellers have repeatedly stepped in, and how to use them without expecting them to hold forever.
What support and resistance are
Support is a price area where buying has repeatedly stopped a decline. Resistance is an area where selling has repeatedly stopped a rise. The levels form because many traders remember them, place orders near them, and react when price returns. A level is an area, not a single exact price, so expect some overshoot.
How to find useful levels
Useful levels usually show several touches over time, produce sharp reactions, and line up with round numbers such as 0.8000 or with prior highs and lows on higher timeframes. A level that has been broken often switches roles: old resistance can become support after a clean breakout and retest.
What levels cannot do
A level does not guarantee a reaction. Price can pass through it, stall, or reverse. A breakout above resistance can be false. For that reason, decide in advance what you will do if price breaks a level, and size your position so that a failed level is a loss you can accept.
PipLadder's zones are derived from the 12-month range rather than from individual levels, and the News Shield can pause new rungs around events that break levels suddenly.
Key takeaways
- Support and resistance are areas of repeated buying or selling.
- The strongest levels have multiple touches and higher-timeframe context.
- Breakouts fail often: plan what you will do if a level breaks.