Educational reference. Measured from 275 recorded 5m bars of CL (Crude Oil) on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 3 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 5 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 10.2% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 83.6%, and below 30 for 6.2%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 10.2% | 28 | 3 | 5 min | 130 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 83.6% | 230 | 7 | 60 min | 535 min | |
| Below 30 | 6.2% | 17 | 4 | 20 min | 40 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 3 times, with a median stay of 5 minutes and a longest of 130. 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.