What is Money Flow Index?

MFI stands for Money Flow Index, a technical indicator used in financial analysis and trading to determine buying and selling pressure in a market. It’s a momentum oscillator that uses both price and volume to assess whether a security is overbought or oversold. MFI can be used to help traders make investment decisions and identify potential trend reversals. The Money Flow Index (MFI), developed by Gene Quong and Avrum Soudack, uses both price and volume to measure buying and selling pressure.

Table of Contents

Calculation of MFI

The Money Flow Index (MFI) is calculated as follows:

Positive Money Flow: The positive money flow is calculated by multiplying the typical
Negative Money Flow: The negative money flow is calculated by multiplying the typical price by the volume, but only for the periods where the typical price is lower than the previous period’s typical price.
Money Ratio: The money ratio is calculated by dividing the sum of the positive money flow over a certain number of periods (usually 14) by the sum of the negative money flow over the same number of periods.
MFI: Finally, the MFI is calculated as 100 – (100 / (1 + Money Ratio)).

The MFI oscillates between 0 and 100 and can be plotted as a line on a chart, along with the underlying asset’s price. The MFI provides insight into both price and volume information, which can help traders make informed investment decisions.

The MFI oscillates between 0 and 100 and generates signals when it crosses above or below certain thresholds, such as 20 and 80.

You must read: How to generate trading signals using the Money Flow Index(MFI)?

Use of Money Flow Index

The MFI indicator is commonly used in the following ways:

Overbought/Oversold signals: When the MFI rises above 80, it signals that the asset may be overbought and may be due for a correction. Conversely, when the MFI falls below 20, it may indicate that the asset is oversold and a potential buying opportunity.
Trend reversal signals: A bullish reversal signal is generated when the MFI crosses above 20 from below, indicating a potential change in trend from down to up. A bearish reversal signal is generated when the MFI crosses below 80 from above, indicating a potential change in trend from up to down.
Confirm trend strength: The MFI can also be used to confirm the strength of a trend. If the MFI is consistently rising or falling along with the price, it can indicate that the trend is strong and likely to continue.
Combination of price and volume information: The MFI uses both price and volume information to generate signals, which provides a more comprehensive view of market conditions compared to using price data alone.

RSI v/s MFI

The Money Flow Index (MFI) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) are both technical indicators used in technical analysis, but there are several differences between the two:

Calculation method: The MFI uses both price and volume data to generate its readings, while the RSI uses price data only. The MFI also uses a weighted average of positive and negative money flow, while the RSI uses a ratio of up closes to down closes.
Overbought/Oversold signals: Both the MFI and RSI generate overbought and oversold signals, but the MFI uses a different range of values to generate these signals, with overbought signals generated above 80 and oversold signals generated below 20. The RSI uses a range of 0 to 100, with overbought signals generated above 70 and oversold signals generated below 30.
Trend reversal signals: Both the MFI and RSI can be used to identify potential trend reversals, but the MFI generates trend reversal signals by crossing above or below certain thresholds, while the RSI generates trend reversal signals through divergences between the indicator and price action.
Purpose: The MFI is primarily used to identify overbought and oversold conditions and potential trend reversals, while the RSI is used to measure the strength of price movements and identify potential overbought and oversold conditions.

Both the MFI and RSI are useful tools for technical analysis, but they have different calculation methods and are used for different purposes. As such, they can complement each other and provide a more comprehensive view of market conditions when used together.

In conclusion, the Money Flow Index (MFI) is a technical indicator that uses both price and volume information to generate a composite indicator that can be used to identify overbought or oversold conditions, as well as potential trend reversals. The MFI is a useful tool for traders, as it provides insight into both price and volume information and is easy to interpret. However, like all technical indicators, it should be used in conjunction with other analysis tools and not relied upon solely to make investment decisions.

Download Money Flow Index (MFI) for Amibroker (AFL)

// Downloaded From https://www.TradingFuel.com
// MFI with Color and Clip Area
// NHT
// Date: 10/Mar/2018

SetChartOptions(0,0,ChartGrid50,0,100);

periods = Param("Periods", 14, 1, 200, 1);
Levelup = Param("Level up",80,1,100,1);
Leveldown = Param("Level down",20,1,100,1);

z = MFI(periods);

LineColor = ParamColor("Line Color", colorLightBlue );
LineStyle = ParamStyle("Line Style", styleLine);
LevelupColor = ParamColor("Overbought Color",colorRed);
LeveldownColor = ParamColor("Oversold Color",colorGreen);

Plot(z, "MFI (" + periods + ")", LineColor , LineStyle);
Plot(Levelup,"Level UP ",LevelupColor,styleDashed);
Plot(Leveldown,"Level Down",LeveldownColor,styleDashed);
PlotOHLC(z,z,50,z,"",IIf(z>50, LevelupColor, LeveldownColor), styleCloud | styleNoLabel | styleClipMinMax, Leveldown, Levelup);

Author

Prashant Raut

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