How to read a currency strength meter
What a currency strength meter shows, how it relates to a forex heatmap, and why session time changes the picture. No performance claims.
A currency strength meter asks a different question from a single pair. EUR/USD can rise because the euro is bid, because the dollar is offered, or both. A strength view tries to show which of the majors is firm or soft against the others at the same time.
What is being ranked
The usual set is the US dollar, euro, yen, pound, Swiss franc, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and Canadian dollar. A meter ranks them from the crosses among those currencies. If the euro is up against most of the others and the yen is down against most of the others, the euro is the stronger currency and the yen is the weaker one, on that window.
The rank is only as good as the pairs and the time window behind it. Leave out the crosses and the picture leans on the dollar. Change the window from an hour to a week and the order can change. A rank describes the window you asked for. It is not a forecast.
A heatmap can do a plain version of the same job
You do not need a separate score to see the idea. Put the majors and a few crosses on one board. If the euro pairs are mostly one colour and the dollar pairs are mostly the other, you are looking at relative strength, not at a single quote. TickHeat's forex heatmap is that board: you choose the pairs, the view and the window.
Equal-sized tiles are often clearer in forex than tiles sized by market cap, because a pair does not have a market cap in the way a share does.
Sessions
Liquidity is not even through the day. Sydney, Tokyo, Frankfurt, London and New York are the sessions traders name. Overlaps, especially London with New York, are when many people expect the market to be busiest. TickHeat includes a session clock with those five sessions on a UTC timeline. The hours are fixed in UTC and do not yet move for daylight saving, so treat them as a guide. You can embed the clock.
What not to conclude
A strength meter does not tell you the next move. Currencies reverse inside a session. A strong currency can be strong because of a data release that is already in the price, or because of a move that fades. Use the meter to see the recent window. Use a primary source before you trade.
TickHeat's tools are information, not advice. Read the disclaimer. For the tile idea itself, see what a market heatmap is.
This is a starter article. It explains an idea. It does not quote live prices.
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