Direct Answer
Connors RSI is a momentum measure used to measure the speed, persistence, or relative intensity of recent price movement. The production page must define the exact calculation convention before interpreting higher or lower readings, because platform and provider implementations can differ.
Connors RSI: Formula, Meaning, Signals, Examples and How to Use It
How Is Connors RSI Calculated?
A composite oscillator by Larry Connors that averages three components: a short RSI of price, a short RSI of the up/down streak length, and the percentile rank of the one-day price change. It is designed for short-term mean-reversion analysis.
Formula: ConnorsRSI = (RSI(Close, 3) + RSI(Streak, 2) + PercentRank(ROC(1), 100)) / 3
Inputs:
- Closing prices
- RSI period 3 on price
- RSI period 2 on the consecutive up/down streak
- Percent rank lookback 100 on the one-day rate of change
Worked example. With a price RSI of 70, a streak RSI of 80 and a percent rank of 60, ConnorsRSI is 70.0. The inputs are illustrative numbers, not market data.
Reading it. It ranges from 0 to 100. Very high readings reflect a strong recent run and very low readings a sharp decline; analysts using it for mean reversion treat the extremes as stretched conditions, with thresholds chosen by the user.
Limits. Its short lookbacks make it highly sensitive and prone to extreme readings that do not mean a reversal is coming. Results depend on the three component settings, which vary between implementations.
Indicator overview
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | Momentum |
| Asset classes | Stocks, ETFs, Indexes, Futures, Forex, Crypto, Commodities |
| Output type | Oscillator/line |
| Parameters | Varies by implementation; document exact settings on use |
What is Connors RSI?
Connors RSI is a momentum measure used to measure the speed, persistence, or relative intensity of recent price movement. The production page must define the exact calculation convention before interpreting higher or lower readings, because platform and provider implementations can differ.
For Swoopr, the canonical profile separates definition, calculation, interpretation and decision use. That keeps readers from collapsing a descriptive metric into a trading strategy. An indicator can describe trend, momentum, volatility, participation, positioning or risk without providing a complete entry, exit, sizing or portfolio decision.
What does it measure?
Connors RSI measures specific market properties in the Momentum domain. The practical value is repeatability: the same inputs and formula can be applied across a defined dataset, allowing users to compare readings through time or across instruments when the calculation convention is held constant.
How to read Connors RSI
Interpretation depends on the market property being measured. A descriptive reading is not automatically predictive. The same numerical state can lead to different outcomes in a strong trend, quiet range, event-driven gap or illiquid market. Always combine with context from price structure, volume, and broader market regime before drawing conclusions.
Strengths
- Three separate views of the same series, price strength, streak length and the rank of the one-day move, are averaged into one 0 to 100 score.
- The streak component counts consecutive up or down closes, adding run-length information that a plain RSI of price does not contain.
- Reproducible when the formula and data convention are fixed.
Weaknesses and limitations
- The percent-rank component uses only a 100-bar history, so its value reflects what happened in that sample and not any fixed magnitude of move.
- Equal weighting of the three parts is a design choice, so the composite can hide which component produced a given reading.
- Correlated indicators can create false confidence by repeating the same underlying information.
Editorial and risk note
This page is educational content, not individualized investment advice. It should not imply guaranteed prediction, accuracy or outperformance. Where multiple valid definitions exist, Swoopr states the alternatives and the reason for selecting its primary convention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Connors RSI a buy or sell signal?
No. It ranges from 0 to 100. Its short lookbacks make it highly sensitive and prone to extreme readings that do not mean a reversal is coming. A trade built on it still needs a trigger, an invalidation rule, a position size and realistic execution assumptions.
What is the best setting for Connors RSI?
Connors RSI takes these inputs: closing prices; RSI period 3 on price; RSI period 2 on the consecutive up/down streak. There is no universal best setting for the tunable ones, so test them across instruments, regimes and out-of-sample periods and favor stable parameter regions over one historical winner.
Can Connors RSI be used by itself?
Its short lookbacks make it highly sensitive and prone to extreme readings that do not mean a reversal is coming. Results depend on the three component settings, which vary between implementations. For that reason it is read next to measures of direction, participation, valuation, liquidity and risk, not alone.
Does Connors RSI work on every timeframe?
The calculation (ConnorsRSI = (RSI(Close, 3) + RSI(Streak, 2) + PercentRank(ROC(1), 100)) / 3) can be run on any bar size, but behavior is not portable: a reading on a five-minute chart describes a very different market window from the same reading on a daily chart. Validate the exact timeframe before relying on it.
Why does Connors RSI give false signals?
The percent-rank component uses only a 100-bar history, so its value reflects what happened in that sample and not any fixed magnitude of move. Equal weighting of the three parts is a design choice, so the composite can hide which component produced a given reading. Lag, noise and regime changes add to this, because market participants react to new information after the reading is calculated.
How should Connors RSI be backtested?
Rebuild Connors RSI from closing prices using point-in-time data, write the rules before testing, include delisted securities where relevant, model realistic fills and costs, reserve a validation sample and compare with a simpler baseline.