Lower low

Family VI · Charts & indicators

Not to be confused with swing low.

Lower low is a chart-reading term for a trough that sits below the previous trough in the same swing sequence. It is defined relative to the prior low, not to any fixed price level, so the same trough can be a lower low on one timeframe and an ordinary pullback low on another. A run of lower lows is the structural signature of a falling market.

How a lower low is identified

Identification is comparative and timeframe-bound. A trough is confirmed as a lower low only when it is lower than the trough that preceded it in the same sequence of swings, and only after price has turned back up from it.

• The reference point is the previous trough, not the previous close or an average.
• The comparison holds within one chart and one timeframe; a lower low on a daily chart may be a higher low on a weekly chart.
• Two adjacent troughs at the same price are usually treated as a double bottom rather than a lower low.
• Sequence matters: lower highs combined with lower lows describe a downtrend, while lower lows with higher highs do not.

Worked example

Interpretation and limits

A lower low shows that sellers were able to push price beneath a level that had previously held. It does not by itself confirm a downtrend, because a single lower low can occur inside a range or at the end of a decline. Traders typically require a lower low together with a lower high before describing the structure as bearish.

Breakout conventions differ by market and venue. Whether a trough counts as a lower low when it exceeds the prior trough by one tick or by a minimum filter is a matter of local practice, and no single threshold applies universally.

Often confused with

swing low

A swing low is any local trough detected by a swing or pivot rule, whereas a lower low is a swing low that specifically sits below the previous one; the visible sign is the comparison with the preceding trough, not the trough itself.

See also

• forex technical analysis indicators
• price action
• fundamental analysis
• support and resistance
• technical analysis
• fibonacci