Educational reference. Measured from 1380 recorded 1m bars of MES (Micro E-mini S&P 500) on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 29 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 2 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 8.3% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.6%, and below 30 for 5.1%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 8.3% | 115 | 29 | 2 min | 18 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.6% | 1195 | 46 | 18 min | 130 min | |
| Below 30 | 5.1% | 70 | 17 | 2 min | 20 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 29 times, with a median stay of 2 minutes and a longest of 18. 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.