Educational reference. Measured from 359 recorded 1m bars of ES (E-mini S&P 500) on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 5 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 2 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 7.0% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 85.0%, and below 30 for 8.1%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 7.0% | 25 | 5 | 2 min | 16 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 85.0% | 305 | 11 | 4 min | 127 min | |
| Below 30 | 8.1% | 29 | 6 | 2 min | 14 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 5 times, with a median stay of 2 minutes and a longest of 16. 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.