Why the same number of points changes meaning

Daily ATR values change over the years. How much of a larger point range reflects a different price level, and how much reflects a different relative movement scale?

A higher-priced asset can move more points while making the same percentage movement. Comparing nominal distances alone can hide that distinction.

We calculated daily true range, smoothed it with the 14-period Wilder method, and summarized the series using weekly and monthly medians. We compared nominal ATR in native price units with ATR divided by price.

For each instrument we examined the span between its quieter and more active months, its position within its own history, and how long upper- or lower-quartile movement conditions persisted. The comparisons were made per instrument before summarizing across the universe.

Nominal daily range varied substantially over the sample. Across FX pairs, the median ratio between the largest and smallest monthly ATR was about three. Some non-FX instruments had much larger nominal changes.

Expressing range as a percentage changed the interpretation. Gold's nominal range varied more than its percentage range; bitcoin showed the same distinction more strongly. These ratios demonstrate why price points and relative movement are different quantities. They do not, by themselves, isolate how much of a change was caused by price appreciation or by any particular macro event.

Movement regimes were persistent in the historical summaries. Expanded and compressed months often occurred together. That is evidence about this sample's dependence through time. It is not a validated forecast that a current regime will last a particular number of months.

The weekly view also revealed transitions that monthly aggregation smoothed over. The choice of clock changes what the chart makes visible.

The final October observation contains only the available days through 2 October 2026. It must not be read as a completed month's typical range. Historical percentile labels describe that recorded endpoint, not today's market.

The original report connected a fixed distance with an asserted universal intraday noise floor. That interpretation is not retained here. The audited target study found a smooth stop-out curve, and the later time-aware range study shows that daily ATR alone misses important intraday differences.

These are descriptive statistics from one broker's available history. ATR is a smoothed range measure, not a forecast of direction, a full loss distribution, or a guarantee about the next bar. Calendar choices and partial periods affect the comparison.

The practical understanding is to state the ruler before comparing distances. A change in nominal volatility does not mechanically change cash risk if position size and stop distance are chosen differently.