Financial Glossary Header Image

Exponential Moving Average

Updated on March 11, 2023


The Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is a popular technical indicator that is used in technical analysis. This indicator is used to help traders identify trends and make informed decisions about buying and selling financial assets.

How is EMA Used?

An EMA is a type of moving average that gives more weight to the most recent price data. This allows it to react more quickly to recent price changes than a simple moving average (SMA). Traders can calculate the EMA by multiplying a weighing factor (also known as the smoothing constant) by the current period’s closing price. This is then followed by adding the result to a portion of the previous period’s EMA.

How to use EMA?

EMAs are commonly used to identify trend direction. This is due to the fact that the EMA will follow the trend of the price data over time. If the current period’s EMA is greater than the previous period’s EMA, then the trend is considered bullish. Similarly, if the current period’s EMA is less than the previous period’s EMA, the trend is considered bearish.

Furthermore, EMA is also used to identify potential buy and sell signals. When the current price crosses above the EMA, it can indicate a potential buy signal. Similarly, when the current price crosses below the EMA, it can indicate a potential sell signal.