Educational reference. Measured from 1380 recorded 1m bars of MES (Micro E mini S&P 500) on Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
RSI crossed above 70 16 separate times during the session, and the typical visit lasted 3 minutes. Across the whole session it sat above 70 for 7.3% of the time, between 30 and 70 for 86.4%, and below 30 for 6.2%.
| Band | Share of session | Bars | Separate visits | Median visit | Longest visit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Above 70 | 7.3% | 101 | 16 | 3 min | 28 min | |
| Between 30 and 70 | 86.4% | 1193 | 45 | 16 min | 141 min | |
| Below 30 | 6.2% | 86 | 29 | 1 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 16 times, with a median stay of 3 minutes and a longest of 28. 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.