Trix Indicator

by · January 1, 2010

TRIX INDICATOR
Price times volume

The Trix Indicator (TI) shows the slope of a triple-smoothed exponential moving average. The term Trix is actually a shortcut of “triple exponential” and was developed by Jack Hutson in the 1980s.
Given an n-day period, trix is calculated this way:
• Smooth closing prices using an N-day exponential moving average (EMA);
• Smooth series using another N-day EMA;
• Smooth a third time, using a further N-day EMA; and
• Calculate the percentage difference between today’s and yesterday’s value in that final smoothed series.

The triple EMA is trend-following since it is a smoothing of price data. Trix shows the slope of that line. It is positive for a steady uptrend, negative for a downtrend, and crossing through zero is a trend-change. The triple EMA is different from a simple EMA. In the simple EMA, the latest days dominate the assignment of weights. Applying the smoothing thrice results in weightings that are spread more broadly. The weights for the latest days are also smaller compared to the earlier days.