OHLC stands for Open, High, Low, Close: the four prices that summarize a candlestick's time window. The open is the first traded price, the close the last, the high the highest price reached, and the low the lowest. Everything else about the window's path is discarded.
How it works
On a daily chart, open and close mark the trading day; on a 5-minute chart they settle every five minutes. The terms refer to the start and end of that specific candle's window.
Because OHLC keeps only four boundary numbers, two candles with identical OHLC can conceal completely different internal battles: a rally-then-crash and a dump-then-surge can produce the same four numbers.
Why it matters
Reading OHLC mechanically prevents you from inventing narratives a single candle does not contain.
The four numbers connect to the candle's shape: open-to-close forms the body, high and low form the wicks, so OHLC is the raw material of every candlestick pattern.
A simple market example
Two hourly candles both show open 100, high 108, low 96, close 103. The first dumped to 96, rallied furiously to 108, and closed at 103. The second spiked to 108, was crushed to 96, then bounced weakly. Identical OHLC, opposite micro-battles.
Common mistakes
Treating the close as the 'true' value of the asset. It is simply the last traded price of the window.
Assuming a candle with high OHLC is automatically more meaningful. Its meaning depends on the surrounding market structure, not on the numbers themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Is OHLC the same as a candlestick?
A candlestick is the visual rendering of OHLC. The four prices are the data; body and wicks are how they are drawn.
Why are high and low important?
They show how far price explored before being pushed back, which the open and close alone cannot reveal.
Can I reconstruct a candle's path from OHLC?
No. OHLC discards the intermediate path, speed, and time spent at each level.
Educational content only. Definitions describe common market usage and may vary by jurisdiction, instrument, or institution.