What Is Futures Open Interest (OI) and How To Use It on FYERS?
Futures Open Interest (OI) shows the total number of outstanding futures contracts at any point in time. Tracking Futures OI along with price helps traders understand whether market participants are building fresh positions, unwinding existing ones, or simply reacting to price movements.
What does Futures Open Interest (OI) indicate?
Futures OI represents the number of active (open) futures contracts that have not been squared off or expired. Changes in OI, when analysed along with price movement, help identify market positioning and sentiment.
Key interpretations:
- Price ↑ + OI ↑ → Long build-up (bullish positioning)
- Price ↓ + OI ↑ → Short build-up (bearish positioning)
- Price ↑ + OI ↓ → Short covering
- Price ↓ + OI ↓ → Long unwinding
Steps to access Futures OI on FYERS
- Go to Options → Analytics
- Select the underlying (e.g., NIFTY, BANKNIFTY, Stock Futures)
- Click on Futures OI from the left menu
The Futures OI chart is available on both FYERS Web and FYERS App.
How to read the Futures OI chart?
The Futures OI chart displays:
- Futures OI line – Total open interest in the futures contract
- Underlying price line – Spot or futures price movement
- Time-based resolution – 1 min, 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, or 1 hour
By observing how OI changes as price moves, traders can identify whether positions are being built or unwound.
How can Futures OI be used in trading?
- Confirm strength or weakness behind price moves
- Identify aggressive long or short positioning
- Spot potential trend continuation or exhaustion
- Combine with volume, VWAP, and options data for better context
Futures OI works best when used alongside price action and volume, rather than as a standalone indicator.
Can I place trades from the Futures OI chart?
No. Futures OI is a view-only analytical feature. You cannot place or modify orders directly from the Futures OI chart.
To trade, you must place orders via:
- Option Chain
- Futures Order Window
- Strategy Builder (where applicable)
Things to keep in mind
- OI changes reflect positioning, not direction certainty
- Sudden OI spikes near expiry may indicate rollovers
- Low-liquidity contracts can show noisy OI data
Futures OI data is updated at selected time intervals and may lag slightly during periods of high market activity.
Last updated: 26 Dec 2025
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