Chart types: How to change chart type in MetaTrader

Modified on Thu, 22 Aug at 2:31 PM

On the MetaTrader platform, 3 types of charts will allow us to analyze a certain instrument and the evolution of the price over time. Although they are all formed based on the quoted BID price, we can only see the same information in some of them.

The existing types of charts are:

Line chart
Bar chart
Candlestick chart

Line chart

This is the simplest type of chart we can find; by definition, the line chart connects the closing prices in a certain period. For example, on an hourly chart, we can observe the closing prices of each hour.

To activate a line chart, click on the corresponding icon. Below, we can see the representation of a line chart in MetaTrader:

Bar chart

As in the previous case, this chart type is formed from the quoted BID price, but we can find more information. In this case, in each bar, we can observe the following values:

Open price (dash left),
Close price (dash right),
Maximum price of the period,
Minimum price of the period.

Therefore, at a glance, we can deduce whether, during this period, the price has experienced a bullish or bearish moment:

The bar will be bearish if the opening price (left dash) is higher than the closing price (right dash).
The bar will be bullish if the opening price (left dash) is lower than the closing price (right dash).

To activate a bar chart, click on the corresponding icon. Below, we can see this type of chart represented:

Candlestick chart

The candlestick chart or Japanese candlestick chart is similar to the bar chart type. Still, it is much easier to interpret visually because the “body” of the candle (colour or lack thereof) tells us if, during this period, the price movement has been bullish or bearish.

As in the previous case, in the Japanese candles, we can see the following information: