Prior day high (PDH) and prior day low (PDL) are the highest and lowest traded prices of the previous calendar day. Because they are visible on every chart and used by a huge number of discretionary and algorithmic traders, they function as self-fulfilling reference levels.
Three common uses: as breakout triggers (long if today closes above yesterday's high), as target levels (price often gravitates back to PDH/PDL during the next session), and as liquidity pools (resting stops cluster just beyond them, making them frequent sweep targets).
In 24/7 markets like crypto the 'day' boundary is a convention — UTC 00:00 is most common, but exchange-local midnight is also seen. Pick one and be consistent across signals and backtests.
Example
Yesterday's BTC range: 49,500 → 51,800. PDH = 51,800, PDL = 49,500. A clean break above 51,800 with volume is a textbook PDH breakout setup; a wick to 51,860 that closes back at 51,720 is a PDH sweep.
How Noon Barbari uses Prior day high / prior day low (PDH / PDL)
Every concept here is implemented in the platform. Open the relevant docs or tool to see it in action.
PDH / PDL in noonbarbari →Related terms
- Market structure
Liquidity sweep
Price briefly trades through an EQH or EQL to trigger resting stops, then immediately reverses.
- Market structure
Break of structure (BOS)
Price closing through a prior swing point in the direction of the existing trend.
- Market structure
Equal highs / equal lows (EQH / EQL)
Two or more swing pivots printing at nearly the same price — a visible liquidity pool.
- Market structure
Support
A price level where falling demand outpaces supply, halting or reversing declines.