How are Fibonacci pivot points calculated?

The pivot is (high + low + close) / 3 taken from the previous session. The range R is the previous session's high minus its low, and resistances sit at the pivot plus 0.382 R, 0.618 R and 1.000 R with supports symmetrically below. Only the multipliers come from the Fibonacci series; the pivot formula is the standard one.

Do Fibonacci pivots use the same central pivot as classic pivots?

Yes — both use (high + low + close) / 3 from the previous session. The difference is entirely in the level spacing: classic pivots derive R1 as 2P minus the low and R2 as P plus the range, while Fibonacci pivots scale the range by 0.382, 0.618 and 1.000. Camarilla pivots differ more, since their level family is anchored on the close.

Which session high and low do Fibonacci pivots use on futures?

They use the high, low and close of the previous session as the application slices it: on CME futures that session runs from the 17:00 CT open, not from midnight. The close is taken from the last bar of that session. If your loaded history does not cover the full previous session, the range will be understated.

Fibonacci Pivots Indicator: Formula, Settings and How to Read It

On this page

What Fibonacci Pivots measures
The formula, as implemented
How to read it
What it does not show
Related indicators
This page in other languages
Frequently asked questions

Fibonacci Pivots — VWAP & bands, on the price chart.

What Fibonacci Pivots measures

The pivot is the average of the previous session's high, low and close, the same central value used by floor pivots — what differs here is the scale of the levels around it, not the pivot itself. The range R is the previous session's high minus its low, and the levels sit at the pivot plus or minus 0.382 R, 0.618 R and 1.000 R. The close used is the close of the last bar of the previous session, and that session is cut at the 17:00 CT boundary on CME futures rather than at midnight. All six levels are therefore fixed for the whole of the current session: they are a map drawn before the session, not a measurement of it.

The formula, as implemented

This is not how the indicator is usually defined elsewhere — it is what the shipped code computes, documented next to the implementation:

Pivots FIBONACCI depuis H/L/C de la session PRÉCÉDENTE, R = H − L : P = (H + L + C) / 3 (même pivot central que les floor pivots — c'est l'échelle des bandes qui change, pas le pivot) R1 = P + 0.382·R S1 = P − 0.382·R R2 = P + 0.618·R S2 = P − 0.618·R R3 = P + 1.000·R S3 = P − 1.000·R Coefficients = les ratios de Fibonacci usuels (0.382 = 1 − 0.618, 0.618 = φ−1, 1.0 = projection pleine du range). Distinct de `pivots-classic` (R1 = 2P − L, R2 = P + R) et de `pivots-camarilla` (ancrés sur le CLOSE avec la famille 1.1). C = close de la DERNIÈRE barre de la session N−1.

How to read it

Use the levels as pre-marked prices where reactions have a reason to be noticed, not as instructions. Nothing in the calculation observes the current session.
Price opening above the pivot and holding there means the session is trading above the previous session's average of high, low and close; below it, the reverse. That is the whole of what the pivot itself states.
The distance between R1 and R3 is proportional to yesterday's range. After a wide session the levels will be far apart and rarely touched; after a compressed session they can all be crossed in minutes.
Check what the order book and the footprint actually show when price reaches a level. A pivot with no resting liquidity and no absorption behind it is only a number.
The 1.000 R levels project the whole previous range from the pivot. Reaching them means the current session has covered a distance comparable to the entire previous one.

What it does not show

These levels are computed from one past session and know nothing about the current one — they do not adapt when the market opens with a gap or when the range regime changes. A holiday session, a half session or an incomplete history produces a compressed or wrong range, and the levels inherit that error without any warning. They also say nothing about liquidity: whether a level matters depends on what is resting in the book and what trades there, which the heatmap and the footprint show and this indicator does not.

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This page in other languages

Frequently asked questions

How are Fibonacci pivot points calculated?: The pivot is (high + low + close) / 3 taken from the previous session. The range R is the previous session's high minus its low, and resistances sit at the pivot plus 0.382 R, 0.618 R and 1.000 R with supports symmetrically below. Only the multipliers come from the Fibonacci series; the pivot formula is the standard one.
Do Fibonacci pivots use the same central pivot as classic pivots?: Yes — both use (high + low + close) / 3 from the previous session. The difference is entirely in the level spacing: classic pivots derive R1 as 2P minus the low and R2 as P plus the range, while Fibonacci pivots scale the range by 0.382, 0.618 and 1.000. Camarilla pivots differ more, since their level family is anchored on the close.
Which session high and low do Fibonacci pivots use on futures?: They use the high, low and close of the previous session as the application slices it: on CME futures that session runs from the 17:00 CT open, not from midnight. The close is taken from the last bar of that session. If your loaded history does not cover the full previous session, the range will be understated.