If you trade in a 15-minute chart, you probably need a responsive indicator to help you catch up with the fast movement of the price.

Best Indicators for 15 Minute Trading

The 15-minute chart is widely used in forex trading for analyzing price movements and making trading decisions. Each candlestick or bar on the chart represents a 15-minute interval.

This chart is well-regarded as a short to mid-term time frame, striking a balance between capturing shorter-term price movements and reducing noise found in even shorter time frames. It is particularly suitable for day traders and scalpers.

The best indicator to use on a 15-minute chart for optimum profits is the combination of the Supertrend indicator, the 5 EMA, and the 20 EMA.

A Supertrend indicator is pretty similar to Moving Averages in the sense that it is plotted on price and can determine the current market price trends. Similarly, EMA is an Exponential Moving Average that measures trend direction over a period of time by placing more weight on current market data.

By combining all these trading conditions together, you will obtain one of the best trading strategies for scalping in a 15-minute chart.

 

The Supertrend Indicator for Trend Identification

The Supertrend indicator is a widely used tool in technical analysis for identifying trend direction and potential entry and exit points in various financial markets, including forex.

Based on the Average True Range (ATR) and trend-following principles, the Supertrend indicator plots a line above or below the price chart, indicating the prevailing trend direction.

Understanding Supertrend Indicator

There are two main signals provided by the Supertrend indicator:

  1. Trend direction: When the Supertrend line is below the price, it signals a bullish trend, suggesting that the price is likely to move upward. Conversely, when the Supertrend line is above the price, it signals a bearish trend, indicating that the price is likely to move downward.
  2. Entry and exit signals: Traders often use the price crossing with the Supertrend line as a signal to enter or exit positions. For instance, a price crossing above the Supertrend line may indicate a buying opportunity, while a price crossing below the Supertrend line may indicate a selling opportunity.

Known for its simplicity and user-friendliness, the Supertrend indicator helps traders capture trends and stay on the right side of the market. However, it's essential to recognize that, like any technical indicator, it may produce false signals during choppy or sideways markets.

To enhance the accuracy of their trading decisions, traders often combine the Supertrend indicator with other tools and analysis techniques. That's why we try to combine it with the 5 EMA and 20 EMA.

 

5 EMA and 20 EMA for Trend Confirmation

The 5 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) and 20 EMA are widely used technical indicators in trading and technical analysis.

EMA is a moving average that gives more significance to recent price data, making it more responsive to current market conditions than simple moving averages (SMA).

The "5 EMA" represents the Exponential Moving Average calculated over the last five periods (e.g., five hours, five days, etc.), while the "20 EMA" represents the Exponential Moving Average calculated over the last twenty periods.

Traders commonly employ these EMAs to identify trends and potential entry and exit points in the market. When the 5 EMA crosses above the 20 EMA, it signals a bullish trend, suggesting a potential uptrend. Conversely, when the 5 EMA crosses below the 20 EMA, it indicates a bearish trend, suggesting a potential downtrend.

Understanding 5 EMA and 20 EMA

The combination of the 5 EMA and 20 EMA is frequently used as part of a trading strategy to confirm changes in trends, generate buy or sell signals, and manage risk.

Some traders complement the EMAs with additional indicators or oscillators to fine-tune their trading decisions, in this context, we'll gonna use the Supertrend indicator.

 

How to Combine Supertrend and EMA for 15-Minute Chart

Now that we've identified the best indicator setup for a 15-minute chart as the combination of the Supertrend indicator and EMA lines, let's understand how to put it to use as a trading strategy.

First, you should know that a Supertrend indicator changes color. It becomes green when the indicator is below the price and red when the indicator is above the price.

Keeping this in mind, we place BUY and SELL positions in the following cases:

 

Buy Rules

In order to place a BUY position, the Supertrend indicator has to turn green. This would mean that it is below the price. Next, the 5 EMA has to be above the 20 EMA in a crossover. When all these conditions are satisfied, you'll get a BUY signal.

Buy Setup

 

Sell Rules

Similarly, in order to place a SELL position, the Supertrend indicator has to turn red. This would mean that it is above the price. Next, the 20 EMA has to be above the 5 EMA in a crossover. When all these conditions are satisfied, you'll get a SELL signal.

Sell Setup

Despite it all, you should know that just because it makes trading easier does not mean it makes it more profitable. Good trading management in risk and emotion plays an incredibly important role in your trading success too.