Educational reference. Measured from 92 recorded 15m bars of ES (E-mini S&P 500) on Thursday, September 3, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 4 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 37 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 15.2% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 84.8%, and below 30 for 0.0%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 15.2% | 14 | 4 | 37 min | 120 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 84.8% | 78 | 5 | 60 min | 570 min | |
| Below 30 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 min | 0 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 4 times, with a median stay of 37 minutes and a longest of 120. 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.