Indicators & Analysis
Beginner
Exponential Moving Average (EMA)
Also called: exponential MA
A moving average that gives more weight to recent prices — reacts faster than the SMA to new data.
Definition
The EMA applies a smoothing factor that exponentially down-weights older prices. The result tracks current price more closely than an SMA of the same length, at the cost of being noisier.
Popular in short-term systems where lag is the enemy. The 9-EMA and 21-EMA are scalper staples.
Example
On a 5-minute EUR/USD chart, a 9-EMA crossing above a 21-EMA is a classic momentum-shift signal for scalpers.
Formula
EMA_today = (Price_today × α) + EMA_yesterday × (1 − α) α = 2 / (N + 1)