Multi-timeframe analysis

1. 1 One market, several pictures

   The same pair can be in an uptrend on the daily chart and a downtrend on the hourly chart at the same moment. Both are true: the hourly chart is showing a pullback inside the bigger move.

   So traders split the job:

   • A higher timeframe sets the direction. It shows the trend that matters.
   • A lower timeframe times the entry. It shows when a pullback inside that trend may be ending.

   You only look for trades in the direction of the higher timeframe.

   Quick check

   1. Question 1 · Multiple choice

      You use D1, H4 and H1 together. Which timeframe sets the direction you trade in?

      A.H1, because it shows the most candles.B.D1, the highest of the three.C.Whichever chart moved the most today.D.All three equally, so you trade every direction.

      Check

2. 2 The 4 to 6 times rule

   Each timeframe you step down to should be about 4 to 6 times shorter than the one above it:

   Higher	Lower	How many lower candles in one higher candle
   W1	D1	5 trading days
   D1	H4	24 ÷ 4 = 6
   H4	H1	4
   H1	M15	60 ÷ 15 = 4

   A common set is D1 for direction, H4 for the setup, H1 for the entry. Jump too far, say from D1 straight to M5 (288 five-minute candles in a day), and the two charts no longer show the same move.

   Quick check

   1. Question 2 · Calculation

      How many H4 candles make up one D1 candle?

      Your answer, in candles

      candles

      Check

   2. Question 3 · Multiple choice

      You time your entries on the M15 chart. Using the 4 to 6 times rule, which timeframe is the next one up?

      A.H1, because 15 minutes × 4 = 60 minutes.B.W1.C.M5.D.D1, because 15 × 96 = 1,440 minutes.

      Check

3. 3 D1: the direction (EURUSD, November to December 2025)

   EURUSD D1:

   • Swing lows: 1.14687 (5 November), then 1.14909 (21 November). A higher low.
   • Swing highs: 1.16559 (13 November), then 1.16819 (4 December). A higher high.

   Higher highs and higher lows: on D1 the direction is up. So on the lower timeframes you only look for the moment a dip ends, not for a fall to sell.

   

   Open this in the terminal ↗ (opens in a new tab)

4. 4 H4: the setup

   Switch the same chart to H4. After the 08:00 UTC high on 4 December (1.16819), price dipped for four days. On H4 that looks like a small downtrend, with lower lows:

   • 1.16409 (4 December, 20:00)
   • 1.16279 (5 December, 16:00)
   • 1.16163 (8 December, 16:00)
   • 1.16149 (9 December, 12:00)

   That is a pullback inside the D1 uptrend. The lowest point, 1.16149, was still more than 120 pips above the last D1 higher low (1.14909), so the D1 structure was untouched.

   

   Open this in the terminal ↗ (opens in a new tab)

   Quick check

   1. Question 4 · Spot the mistake

      EURUSD, 9 December 2025. D1 shows higher highs and higher lows. H4 shows four days of lower lows, the last at 1.16149. A trader sells because H4 is going down. What is the mistake?

      A.The trader should have used M1 instead of H4.B.The trader traded against the higher timeframe. On D1 the H4 fall was a pullback in an uptrend, still far above the last D1 higher low.C.Selling is never allowed.D.The trader should have waited for H4 to make ten lower lows.

      Check

5. 5 H1: the timing

   Now switch to H1 and scroll to 5 to 10 December 2025. From 5 December onwards no hourly candle got above 1.16718 (the 06:00 high on 8 December). The hourly highs were capped.

   In the 19:00 UTC hour on 10 December an hourly candle closed at 1.16782, above that cap. That was the first sign on H1 that the pullback was over, in the same direction as D1.

   What happened next: on 11 December price reached 1.17627 (the 17:00 hour), and on 16 December the daily high was 1.18040. This is one example of the timeframes lining up, not a promise. Lesson 3.6 shows the same kind of reading going wrong.

   The terminal’s normal H1 chart does not load back as far as December 2025, so the link below opens it in replay, stopped on the 19:00 candle. Press Next bar to see what came next.

   

   Open this in the terminal ↗ (opens in a new tab)

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