ProRealAlgos
Indicators/probuilder · probacktest · proorder · proscreener

ElderRayBearPower

ElderRayBearPower in ProBuilder returns Elder Ray Bear Power, the distance between each bar's low and a moving average, measuring bearish selling pressure.

Syntax

probuilder
ElderRayBearPower[period, MAtype](price)

Parameters

NameTypeDefaultDescription
periodinteger13Lookback period of the moving average used as the value reference.
MAtypeinteger1Moving average type: 0 = simple, 1 = exponential, 2 = weighted, 3 = Wilder, 4 = triangular, 5 = end point, 6 = time series.
priceprice sourcecloseSeries the moving average is computed on, typically close.

Formula

code
BearPower = low - MA[period, MAtype](price)

With the defaults, the reference is a 13-period exponential moving average of the close, so Bear Power is the bar's low minus that EMA.

How it works

Bear Power is one half of the Elder-Ray Index designed by Dr. Alexander Elder. The moving average represents the market's consensus of value. The bar's low shows the furthest point sellers managed to drive price during that bar. Subtracting the average from the low therefore measures how much force the bears exerted below fair value.

The reading is negative on most bars, since lows normally sit under the moving average. Increasingly negative values indicate strengthening selling pressure. Values shrinking toward zero indicate that bears are losing the ability to pull price under its average, and a positive reading means even the bar's low held above the average, a sign that bulls control the bar entirely.

The companion measure, ElderRayBullPower, applies the same idea to the bar's high. The two are usually plotted together as histograms around a zero line, with the moving average itself acting as the trend filter.

Examples

Example 1, Bear Power histogram (Indicator)

probuilder
// 13-period exponential average of the close, as in Elder's original design
bearPower = ElderRayBearPower[13, 1](close)
RETURN bearPower AS "Bear Power", 0 AS "Zero line"

Reproduces the classic Bear Power pane, the bar's low minus a 13-period EMA, plotted around zero.

Example 2, Elder-style long setup (ProOrder)

probuilder
// Buy when the trend is up but bears made a final, weakening push
ema  = ExponentialAverage[13](close)
bear = ElderRayBearPower[13, 1](close)

IF NOT LongOnMarket THEN
  // Rising EMA, negative Bear Power that is contracting
  IF ema > ema[1] AND bear < 0 AND bear > bear[1] THEN
    BUY 1 CONTRACT AT MARKET
  ENDIF
ELSE
  IF close < ema THEN
    SELL AT MARKET
  ENDIF
ENDIF

Implements the textbook Elder-Ray long condition: the trend measured by the EMA is rising while Bear Power is negative but shrinking, showing sellers failing.

Example 3, Screening for exhausted sellers (ProScreener)

probuilder
bear = ElderRayBearPower[13, 1](close)
// Bear Power negative for context but rising two bars in a row
cond = bear < 0 AND bear > bear[1] AND bear[1] > bear[2]
SCREENER[cond](bear AS "Bear Power")

Lists instruments where Bear Power has been recovering for two consecutive bars while still negative, a pattern of fading selling pressure.

Interpretation

ReadingMeaning
Deeply negative and fallingSellers dominate and are gaining force.
Negative but risingSelling pressure is fading, often the more useful signal in an uptrend.
Near zeroLows are holding around the average, balanced conditions.
PositiveThe entire bar, including its low, trades above the average, strong bullish control.

A common reading combines the slope of the reference EMA with Bear Power: rising EMA plus contracting negative Bear Power favors longs. Divergences also matter, price making a lower low while Bear Power makes a higher low suggests weakening downside momentum. Bear Power is a pressure gauge, not a standalone entry signal.

Common errors and gotchas

  • Wrong bracket placement. The period and MA type go in square brackets, the price source in parentheses: ElderRayBearPower[13, 1](close). Writing ElderRayBearPower(13, 1, close) raises a syntax error.
  • Invalid MAtype code. MAtype must be an integer from 0 to 6. Passing a period value there by mistake, for example ElderRayBearPower[13, 20](close), does not select a valid average type.
  • Expecting a bounded oscillator. Bear Power is measured in price units, so its scale changes with the instrument and the timeframe. Thresholds that work on one market do not transfer to another.
  • Reading it without the trend. A deeply negative Bear Power in a downtrend is confirmation, not a buy signal. Elder's method only takes the fading-bears signal in the direction of the underlying trend.