Educational reference. Measured from 276 recorded 5m bars of CL (Crude Oil) on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 10 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 15 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 12.3% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 85.1%, and below 30 for 2.5%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 12.3% | 34 | 10 | 15 min | 40 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 85.1% | 235 | 12 | 65 min | 310 min | |
| Below 30 | 2.5% | 7 | 1 | 35 min | 35 min |
RSI compares the size of recent gains with recent losses, so a reading above 70 says buying has dominated the last 14 bars — not that price is high. A long stay above 70 is a market trending up, which is the opposite of the reversal the word 'overbought' suggests.
Here the reading entered overbought territory 10 times, with a median stay of 15 minutes and a longest of 40. A brief excursion above 70 that resolves in minutes is noise on this timeframe. A sustained one is the signature of a trend that is still running, and selling into it is how traders get run over.