How Do You Calculate Simple Moving Average?
A moving average is a method used to smooth data that have a high level of variance or volatility. The smoothed data can be used to show trends that might be hidden by the erratic nature of the raw data. Moving averages commonly are used in financial applications and are one tool used to assess the technical strength of a stock or other investment instrument. Many financial programs automatically calculate the moving average curves for a given stock chart, and moving averages can be programmed into spreadsheets, but they also can be calculated by hand, if necessary. Define the window you want to use to calculate your moving average. Thirty-day and 90-day moving averages are common in the investment industry. Gather the data currently available for the window you have defined. This can be daily data, hourly data or even real-time data. The more refined the data, the more difficult it will be to calculate the moving average without a spreadsheet or some other computer program. Calculate
