Order Block
An order block is a chart-reading term for the last opposing candle before a strong price move; traders mark its range as a zone to watch when price returns.
An order block is the last candle that moved against a strong price move, or the zone around it. The term comes from retail chart reading, part of the smart money concepts vocabulary, and traders mark the zone to watch how price behaves when it returns. A bullish order block sits before a rise, a bearish one before a fall.
How do traders usually define an order block?
Traders define an order block as the range of the last opposite candle before a sharp move: the last down candle before a rise, or the last up candle before a fall. Decide whether the zone uses the candle's body or its full range, and use the same rule every time.
Price makes a sharp move. The trader looks back for the last candle that moved the other way before it started, and marks that candle's range as a zone. A "bullish" order block is the last down candle before a strong rise. A "bearish" one is the last up candle before a strong fall.
The name comes from the idea that large participants left unfilled orders in that zone. A price chart presents prices as bars, candlesticks or a line, so traders judge an order block by how price reacts at it, not by the orders behind it.
What does an order block look like on a chart?
On a chart, an order block is a box drawn across the range of the last opposite candle, extended to the right so you can see if price returns. The worked example below marks a bullish block on USDZAR, and the diagram after it shows the same zone.
Worked example. USDZAR trades near 18.2000, then rises sharply to 18.4500. The last down candle before that rise spans 18.1900 to 18.2100. A trader who uses this convention draws a box across that range and watches what price does if it comes back. The box is 0.0200 wide, which is R0.02 per dollar, or R20 on a $1,000 position. A trader who buys $1,000 at 18.2100 when price returns to the top of the box, with a stop just below it at 18.1850, loses R25 if the stop is hit and gains R25 if price rises 0.0250 to 18.2350.
How do you draw an order block in MetaTrader 5?
MetaTrader 5 has no order block indicator or setting, so traders draw the zone by hand with a rectangle from the Insert menu or the Line Studies toolbar. MetaTrader 5 says shapes serve to highlight important areas in a chart and that graphical objects are plotted manually, unlike indicators.
What confirms an order block?
An order block is confirmed when price returns to the zone and a candle closes away from it, ideally in the direction of the trend. Traders give the most weight to the first return to a fresh zone, and look for a clear reaction candle, as the checks below set out.
- A reaction candle. Price returns to the zone and a candle closes away from it, such as a pin bar or an engulfing candle.
- The trend. A bullish block counts most inside an uptrend of higher highs and higher lows; a bearish one inside a downtrend.
- A fresh zone. Traders give the most weight to the first return to a zone.
The fair value gap and liquidity sweep are related chart-reading ideas, often marked on the same chart.
Does an order block show where banks placed orders?
No: an order block shows where a candle sat before a strong move, not where banks or big funds have placed orders. The chart does not show who placed the orders, so traders judge the zone only by how price reacts when it returns.
How does an order block fit with trend and range?
An order block carries the most weight when it agrees with the surrounding structure: a bullish block in an uptrend, a bearish block in a downtrend. Read swing highs, swing lows and the timeframe first; see how to tell a trending market from a ranging market.
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Sources
- MetaQuotes, View and Configure Charts, MetaTrader 5 Help, accessed 19 October 2026: price charts are presented as bars, Japanese candlesticks or a broken line. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_analysis/charts
- MetaQuotes, Shapes, MetaTrader 5 Help, accessed 19 October 2026: shapes serve to highlight important areas in a chart, via the Insert menu or Line Studies toolbar. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/objects/shapes
- MetaQuotes, Analytical Objects, MetaTrader 5 Help, accessed 19 October 2026: unlike technical indicators, graphical objects are plotted manually. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/charts_analysis/objects
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