Previous Volume Weighted Average Price (pVWAP)

Previous Volume Weighted Average Price (pVWAP) is the completed VWAP value from the immediately prior session or other finished anchor period, carried forward into the current chart as a historical reference level. Standard VWAP is a volume-weighted average that resets at its anchor period, such as Session, Week, or Month, so the prior completed reading can be used as a fixed benchmark for the current period.

VWAP combines price and volume into one running average. During an active session, it updates continuously. pVWAP is different: it refers to the last completed period’s VWAP, so instead of moving throughout the day, it is used as a static carry-forward reference from the previous session. Traders use it to compare current price to where the bulk of volume-weighted trading occurred in the prior period.

• Choose the anchor period being tracked, most commonly the prior trading session.
• For that completed period, calculate VWAP by combining price and volume across all bars in the anchor window.
• When that period ends, the final VWAP reading becomes the previous VWAP reference.
• Carry that completed level forward into the next session or period as pVWAP.

Note: Because VWAP can also be anchored to Week, Month, Quarter, Year, or event-based anchors on some platforms, “previous VWAP” only makes sense if the anchor period is clearly defined.

pVWAP is commonly used in three connected ways:

• As a prior-value reference: traders compare current price to the previous session’s completed VWAP to judge whether the market is trading above or below the last period’s volume-weighted average.
• As a support/resistance reference: price often reacts around prior benchmark levels, especially when pVWAP aligns with other structure such as prior VAH, prior VAL, or prior POC.
• As a context tool: traders use pVWAP to frame whether the current session is accepting above the prior benchmark, rejecting it, or rotating around it. VWAP is widely used as an execution and trend benchmark, which is why prior completed VWAP can matter as a carry-forward context level.

• Session VWAP: the standard form resets each session, which is the basis for a prior-session VWAP reference.
• Alternative anchors: TradingView supports anchors such as Session, Week, Month, Quarter, Year, Decade, Century, and selected event anchors, so previous VWAP can be interpreted across more than just daily periods.
• VWAP bands: many tools can display standard-deviation-style bands around active VWAP, though pVWAP itself is usually used as the completed benchmark line rather than a developing band structure.
• Hide-on-higher-timeframes settings: some platforms suppress Session VWAP on daily-or-higher charts because session-based VWAP is mainly intended for intraday use.

• Treating pVWAP as the same thing as POC or Value Area. VWAP is a running volume-weighted average, not a profile-derived level.
• Using pVWAP without defining the anchor. A previous Session VWAP, previous Weekly VWAP, and previous Monthly VWAP are not the same level. TradingView explicitly documents multiple anchor periods.
• Assuming price above pVWAP automatically means bullish and below pVWAP automatically means bearish. It is a benchmark and context level, not a standalone trade signal. VWAP itself is described as similar to a moving average in directional interpretation, but it still lags because it is built from past data.
• Confusing pVWAP with anchored VWAP from an arbitrary event. A prior completed session VWAP is a historical carry-forward level; an anchored VWAP may begin from a completely different reference point.