ClearPath Trader

EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

Moving average that weights recent prices more heavily. Responds faster than SMA; cornerstone of many trend and MACD systems.

Category: Trend · Complexity: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

Tags: trend, live-overlay, price

Live chart overlay: EMA

EMA (Exponential Moving Average) chart illustration

Formula

EMA_t = k·P_t + (1−k)·EMA_{t-1}, k = 2/(n+1)

How to read

Responds faster than SMA. Price/EMA relationship plus EMA slope define the trend. EMA crossovers are classic timing signals.

Limitations

Still lags. More sensitive to last bars, so noisier than SMA of the same length.

Typical settings

12 & 26 (MACD pair), 21, 50

EMA (Exponential Moving Average) is part of the ClearPath Encyclopedia of Indicators — 190 models explained with standard SVG illustrations, so you can study an indicator before you put it on a live chart.

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