How To Compute Average True Range (ATR) In SQL?

6 minutes read

To compute the Average True Range (ATR) in SQL, you can follow these steps:

  1. Calculate the true range for each day by finding the maximum of the following: High - Low Absolute value of High - Close(previous day) Absolute value of Low - Close(previous day)
  2. To calculate the initial ATR value, you can use a simple moving average calculation with a specified period, such as 14 days.
  3. Update the ATR value for each subsequent day by using the following formula: ATR = [(Prior ATR x 13) + Current True Range] / 14
  4. Repeat this process for each day in your dataset to calculate the ATR value for each day.


By following these steps and using SQL queries to perform the necessary calculations, you can compute the Average True Range (ATR) for a given dataset.

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How to automate the calculation of ATR in SQL?

To automate the calculation of Average True Range (ATR) in SQL, you can create a stored procedure or a user-defined function that calculates the ATR based on the historical data stored in a table. Here is an example of how you can create a user-defined function in SQL Server to calculate the ATR:

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CREATE FUNCTION CalculateATR (@Symbol varchar(50))
RETURNS DECIMAL(18,2)
AS
BEGIN
    DECLARE @TR DECIMAL(18,2)
    DECLARE @ATR DECIMAL(18,2)

    SELECT TOP 1 @TR = MAX(High - Low), @ATR = AverageTrueRange
    FROM (
        SELECT TOP 14 High, Low, ABS(High - LAG(Close, 1) OVER (ORDER BY Date)) AS TR
        FROM StockData
        WHERE Symbol = @Symbol
        ORDER BY Date DESC
    ) AS Last14Days
    ORDER BY Date ASC

    IF @ATR IS NULL
        SET @ATR = @TR
    ELSE
        SET @ATR = ((@ATR * 13) + @TR) / 14

    RETURN @ATR
END


In this function:

  1. Replace StockData with the name of your historical data table.
  2. Replace the column names (High, Low, Close, Date, Symbol) with the actual column names in your table.
  3. The function calculates the True Range (TR) for each day and then calculates the ATR based on the TR values of the past 14 days.
  4. The function returns the calculated ATR for the given symbol.


You can then call this function in your SQL queries to get the ATR values for each symbol. For example:

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SELECT Symbol, Date, High, Low, Close, dbo.CalculateATR(Symbol) AS ATR
FROM StockData
WHERE Symbol = 'AAPL'
ORDER BY Date


By automating the calculation of ATR in SQL, you can easily incorporate the ATR values into your analysis and trading strategies without having to manually calculate them for each symbol.


What are some common mistakes to avoid when computing the ATR in SQL?

  1. Including NULL values: Make sure to filter out or handle any NULL values in the data before computing the ATR.
  2. Using incorrect date formats: Ensure that the date formats in the data match the format specified in the SQL query to avoid errors in calculating the ATR.
  3. Not accounting for weekends and holidays: Consider adjusting the calculation of the ATR to account for weekends and holidays when the market is closed.
  4. Using incorrect window size: Double check that the window size specified in the ATR calculation aligns with the desired time period for analysis.
  5. Failing to order data properly: Ensure that the data is properly ordered by date or time before calculating the ATR to avoid incorrect results.


How can I calculate the ATR using historical price data in SQL?

To calculate the Average True Range (ATR) using historical price data, you can use the following SQL query:

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WITH ATR_Data AS (
    SELECT *,
           CASE
               WHEN row_number() OVER (ORDER BY date) = 1 THEN high - low
               ELSE GREATEST(high - low, ABS(high - lag(close, 1) OVER (ORDER BY date)), ABS(lag(close, 1) OVER (ORDER BY date) - low))
           END AS TrueRange
    FROM YourTable
), ATR AS (
    SELECT date,
           AVG(TrueRange) OVER (ORDER BY date ROWS BETWEEN 13 PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW) AS ATR
    FROM ATR_Data
)
SELECT date, ATR
FROM ATR


In the query above, replace YourTable with the name of your table containing historical price data. The query calculates the True Range for each row in the dataset, then calculates the ATR as the 14-day exponential moving average of the True Range. The final result includes the date and corresponding ATR values.

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