The Ultimate Oscillator (UO) is a popular indicator that is used to measure the momentum of a security or index. It is calculated by subtracting the number of periods in which the price has risen from the number in which it has fallen.The UO was developed by J. Welles Wilder, Jr., who published his first book on technical analysis in 1978. The UO is one of the most popular oscillators and can be found on many trading platforms.Diagram of Ultimate Oscillator (UO): -
The UO measures the difference between the closes of two similar moving averages. The first average, A, is typically a short-term average. The second average, B, is typically a longer-term average, such as the 200-day moving average. The UO is calculated by subtracting the value of B from the value of A.The UO oscillates between positive and negative values. A positive value suggests that the price has risen from the short-term average, while a negative value suggests that the price has fallen from the long-term average.The UO can be used to identify overbought and oversold conditions. When the UO crosses above the 0.0 line, it is considered overbought. When the UO crosses below the 0.0 line, it is considered oversold.