---
title: "Hull Moving Average: Formula, Meaning"
description: "Alan Hull's moving average that uses weighted averages of different lengths to cancel most of the lag while staying smooth. It differences a short and long..."
canonical: https://www.getswoopr.com/indicators/trend/hull-moving-average/
source: "Swoopr Investment: https://www.getswoopr.com"
---

## Direct Answer



> Hull Moving Average is a trend measure used to describe trend direction, persistence, strength, or a smoothed price reference. The production page must define the exact calculation convention before interpreting higher or lower readings, because platform and provider implementations can differ.





      


# Hull Moving Average: Formula, Meaning, Signals, Examples and How to Use It



## How Is Hull Moving Average Calculated?

Alan Hull's moving average that uses weighted averages of different lengths to cancel most of the lag while staying smooth. It differences a short and long weighted average, then smooths the result over the square root of the period.

**Formula:** `HMA(n) = WMA(2 * WMA(Price, n/2) - WMA(Price, n), sqrt(n))`

**Inputs:**

- Prices
- Period n
- Half period n/2 and square-root period sqrt(n), rounded to whole bars

**Worked example.** With a half-length WMA of 102 and a full-length WMA of 100, the raw series before final smoothing is 104.0. The inputs are illustrative numbers, not market data.

**Reading it.** Price above a rising HMA suggests an uptrend and below a falling HMA a downtrend. A change in the slope of the HMA is often used as an early sign of trend change, since it reacts quickly.

**Limits.** The speed that reduces lag also makes it overshoot after sharp reversals and whipsaw in noisy ranges. It is a smoothing tool and does not predict direction.


      

## Indicator overview





| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Category | Trend |
| Asset classes | Stocks, ETFs, Indexes, Futures, Forex, Crypto, Commodities |
| Output type | Line/scalar |
| Parameters | Varies by implementation; document exact settings on use |






## What is Hull Moving Average?



Hull Moving Average is a trend measure used to describe trend direction, persistence, strength, or a smoothed price reference. 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?



Hull Moving Average measures specific market properties in the Trend 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 Hull Moving Average



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



- Doubling a short WMA and subtracting a long WMA builds a lead into the series, so the line stays closer to price than an SMA of the same n.
- A final smoothing over the square root of n restores smoothness, so the line is less jagged than the raw difference.
- Reproducible when the formula and data convention are fixed.




## Weaknesses and limitations



- The raw difference of the two weighted averages can amplify recent noise, and only the last smoothing step reduces it.
- Because the final smoothing spans only the square root of n, which is a few bars for small n, short lengths can remain fairly noisy.
- 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 Hull Moving Average a buy or sell signal?




No. Price above a rising HMA suggests an uptrend and below a falling HMA a downtrend. The speed that reduces lag also makes it overshoot after sharp reversals and whipsaw in noisy ranges. 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 Hull Moving Average?




Hull Moving Average takes these inputs: prices; period n; half period n/2 and square-root period sqrt(n), rounded to whole bars. 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 Hull Moving Average be used by itself?




The speed that reduces lag also makes it overshoot after sharp reversals and whipsaw in noisy ranges. It is a smoothing tool and does not predict direction. For that reason it is read next to measures of direction, participation, valuation, liquidity and risk, not alone.










Does Hull Moving Average work on every timeframe?




The calculation (HMA(n) = WMA(2 * WMA(Price, n/2) - WMA(Price, n), sqrt(n))) 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 Hull Moving Average give false signals?




The raw difference of the two weighted averages can amplify recent noise, and only the last smoothing step reduces it. Because the final smoothing spans only the square root of n, which is a few bars for small n, short lengths can remain fairly noisy. Lag, noise and regime changes add to this, because market participants react to new information after the reading is calculated.










How should Hull Moving Average be backtested?




Rebuild Hull Moving Average from 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.












S




Swoopr Editorial Team



The Swoopr Editorial Team produces independent investment education, research, and tools for understanding markets, evaluating opportunities, and managing risk. All content is educational only and does not constitute personalized investment advice.



See our [editorial policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/editorial-policy/) and [corrections policy](https://www.getswoopr.com/legal/corrections-policy/).