Forex Pivot Point Calculator

Pivot Points: Technical Support and Resistance

Pivot points are price levels calculated from the previous trading session’s high, low, and close. They serve as reference levels where price is likely to find support (when falling) or resistance (when rising). Day traders and swing traders calculate pivot points before the session opens to plan entry and exit levels.

Classic (Standard) System

Pivot Point (PP) = (High + Low + Close) / 3

• R1 = 2 × PP − Low
• R2 = PP + (High − Low)
• R3 = High + 2 × (PP − Low)
• S1 = 2 × PP − High
• S2 = PP − (High − Low)
• S3 = Low − 2 × (High − PP)

Woodie’s System

PP = (High + Low + 2 × Close) / 4, which gives extra weight to the closing price. R1, R2, S1, S2 use the same formulas as Classic.

Camarilla System

PP = (High + Low + Close) / 3, same as Classic. Range = High − Low. Levels are fractions of the range added to or subtracted from the Close, all built on the constant 1.1:

• R1 = Close + Range × 1.1/12, R2 = Close + Range × 1.1/6
• R3 = Close + Range × 1.1/4, R4 = Close + Range × 1.1/2
• S1 = Close − Range × 1.1/12, S2 = Close − Range × 1.1/6
• S3 = Close − Range × 1.1/4, S4 = Close − Range × 1.1/2

Those fractions work out to 0.0917, 0.1833, 0.275 and 0.55 of the range. The divisors are what make Camarilla tight: R1 sits at less than a tenth of the previous range above the close, where the Classic R1 is usually well over half a range away. Scalpers use the inner levels precisely because they are close enough to be reached several times in a session.

A quick sanity check any time you compute these by hand: every Camarilla level must be nearer the close than the Classic R1 and S1, and R4 should land near the top of the previous session’s range rather than far beyond it. If your R1 comes out further away than the Classic R1, a coefficient is wrong.

DeMark’s System

DeMark’s pivot shifts depending on whether the session closed higher or lower than its open:

• If Close < Open: X = High + 2 × Low + Close
• If Close > Open: X = 2 × High + Low + Close
• If Close = Open: X = High + Low + 2 × Close

PP = X / 4, R1 = X/2 − Low, S1 = X/2 − High

DeMark’s defines only one resistance and one support, which makes it simpler but more focused.

Worked example, EUR/USD

Previous session: High 1.09450, Low 1.08820, Close 1.09120, Open 1.08900. Range = 0.00630, which is 63 pips.

Classic PP = (1.09450 + 1.08820 + 1.09120) / 3 = 1.09130 Classic R1 = 2 × 1.09130 − 1.08820 = 1.09440, and S1 = 2 × 1.09130 − 1.09450 = 1.08810 Woodie PP = (1.09450 + 1.08820 + 2 × 1.09120) / 4 = 1.09127 Camarilla R1 = 1.09120 + 0.00630 × 1.1/12 = 1.09178, only 5.8 pips above the close Camarilla R4 = 1.09120 + 0.00630 × 1.1/2 = 1.09466 DeMark: the close finished above the open, so X = 2 × 1.09450 + 1.08820 + 1.09120 = 4.36840, PP = 1.09210

Notice how much tighter the Camarilla levels sit. Classic R1 is 32 pips above the close and Camarilla R1 is under 6. That gap is the whole reason the two systems suit different traders.

How traders use pivot levels

Support levels (S1 to S4) are prices where buying pressure is expected to dominate selling. Resistance levels (R1 to R4) are where selling pressure is expected to dominate buying. If price opens above the pivot point, the session bias is bullish. If price opens below the pivot point, the bias is bearish. A move that reaches R3 or S3 signals a strong trending day, and reversals at those extremes are common.

None of this is magic. Pivot levels work partly because a great many traders watch the same arithmetic, so the levels become self-fulfilling for as long as enough people are looking at them.

Which system to choose?

Classic is the most widely used and forms a solid benchmark across all markets. Camarilla produces much tighter levels near the close, which suits intraday scalping in liquid pairs. Woodie’s suits traders who give more weight to the close than to the range extremes. DeMark’s adapts to the session direction, which is useful in trending markets.