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  • Writer's pictureVasily Trader

CANDLESTICK PATTERN TRADING | Engulfing Candle 📚

Updated: Jul 3, 2023



Hey traders,

In this post, we will discuss a classic candlestick pattern formation each trader must know - the engulfing candle.


Key properties of this pattern:

🔑 Engulfing candle is a reversal pattern.

🔑 Engulfing candle can be bullish or bearish.


❗️Also, remember that this candle demonstrates the highest accuracy when it is formed on a key level (support or resistance).


⬆️Bullish Engulfing Candle usually forms after a strong bearish impulse.

Weakening, the market keeps going lower forming bearish candles.

However, at some moment, instead of forming a new bearish candle the market reverses. The price forms a bullish candle that engulfs the range of the previous bearish candle and closes above its opening price.


Such a candle we call a bullish engulfing candle.

The main feature of this pattern is the fact that its total range (distance from the wick high to wick low) & body range (distance from body open to body close) exceed the ranges of a previous bearish candle.


Being formed on a key support level or within a demand zone it signifies a highly probable pullback or even a trend reversal.


⬇️Bearish Engulfing Candle usually forms after a strong bullish move.

Reaching an overbought condition, the market keeps going higher forming bullish candles.

However, at some moment, instead of forming a new bullish candle the market goes in the opposite direction. The price forms a bearish candle that engulfs the range of the previous bullish candle and closes below its opening price.


Such a candle we call a bearish engulfing candle.

The main feature of this pattern is the fact that its total range (distance from the wick high to wick low) & body range (distance from body open to body close) exceed the ranges of a previous bullish candle.


Being formed on a key resistance level or within a supply zone it signifies a highly probable pullback or even a trend reversal.

Take a look how powerful the engulfing candle is: on Gold chart, 4H time frame, the price formed a bullish engulfing candle after a pullback. The formation of the pattern immediately triggered a bullish continuation.

At some moment, the market became overbought, the formation of a bearish engulfing candle confirmed the initiation of a bearish movement and the market dropped heavily then.


📝Engulfing candle can be applied for scalping lower time frames, for intraday trading, or even for swing trading.

Personally, I apply this candle on daily/4h time frames as one of the confirmations of the strength of the structure level that I spotted.

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