Swing high and swing low
How do traders mark the turning points where a market reversed, and what do those points say about structure?
In plain words
A swing high is a price peak followed by lower prices on both sides; a swing low is a trough followed by higher prices. Together they mark the turning points that outline a market's structure.
Why it matters
These turning points frame how traders read trend and set reference levels. A later peak that fails to exceed an earlier one, or a trough that breaks below an earlier one, suggests the structure has weakened.
In a real week: ETH, week of 14 February 2022
In ETH's week of 14 February 2022, the swing high of 3196.19 was set late on Tuesday at 23:00 UTC, and the swing low of 2576.00 came late on Sunday at 21:00 UTC. Because the low followed the high, the week's structure ran from peak to trough, with the close at 2621.99 in the lower third of the 24.08% range.
A common mistake
Treating any single-bar high or low as a swing point. A genuine swing needs prices to turn away on both sides, and its significance depends on how many times it is tested.