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NRB stands for Narrow Range Bar, a candle with a small high-to-low range that reflects low volatility and indecision or compression. WRB stands for Wide Range Bar, a candle with a large range that reflects expansion, strong momentum and conviction. Comparing a bar’s range to recent bars tells you whether the market is contracting quietly or moving with force.

A narrow range bar signals that volatility has compressed and buyers and sellers are in balance, often before a bigger move. Clusters of NRBs, such as NR4 or NR7 (the narrowest of the last 4 or 7 bars), highlight coiling markets. They don’t predict direction, only that energy is building, so traders watch for an expansion bar to reveal which way price breaks.

A wide range bar shows a surge of momentum, so traders often treat its direction as meaningful, sometimes trading in the direction of the break or watching its high and low as future support and resistance. Some fade an overextended WRB expecting a pullback. Because a wide bar means price has already moved far, entries can carry wider stops and higher risk.

They describe the volatility cycle: markets alternate between contraction and expansion. Narrow range bars mark compression, and a following wide range bar often marks the release, the breakout of that coiled energy. Many traders watch for NRBs to identify low-volatility setups, then act when a WRB confirms the expansion and direction. It’s a framework for timing, not a guarantee of continuation.

They’re useful context, not standalone signals. A narrow bar can precede a breakout or just more chop, and a wide bar can mark the start of a trend or an exhausted, about-to-reverse move. They work best combined with support and resistance, trend and volume. Like all technical tools, they indicate probability, not certainty, so stops and position sizing remain essential.

The core difference is range and what it implies. A narrow range bar has a small range and signals low volatility, balance and potential compression. A wide range bar has a large range and signals high volatility, momentum and conviction. In short, NRBs point to a market coiling up, while WRBs point to a market releasing energy and moving decisively.