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ICT Displacement Explained: What Traders Look For

Displacement is commonly used in ICT education to describe a decisive price move with notable expansion in range or momentum. Traders may study it as evidence of strong price movement, but the definition must be tested.

Educational note: ICT is a trading framework. Examples on this page are educational and do not guarantee a trading outcome. Test any rules before risking capital.

What displacement means

There is no single universal numerical threshold. Traders may define displacement using candle range, consecutive closes, speed or an imbalance. Fix your definition before testing.

Displacement and FVGs

A strong move can create a Fair Value Gap, which is why ICT traders often study displacement and FVGs together. An FVG does not guarantee a later reaction.

Displacement after liquidity

One common sequence is a liquidity event followed by displacement and then a retracement toward a price-delivery area. Treat this as a hypothesis to test.

Make it measurable

Define the minimum candle characteristics, timeframe, session, entry trigger and invalidation. Do not change the definition after seeing the result.

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