Definition
A liquidity void is a segment of the price chart where trading activity was sparse, resulting in minimal executed volume and a lack of resting orders. It typically forms when price moves rapidly through a range, skipping over intermediate price levels rather than facilitating two-sided trade. This creates a structurally weak area in the order flow, where the market did not properly establish consensus value. In many trading frameworks, a liquidity void is treated as a zone that may later attract price as the market seeks to rebalance prior imbalances.
In advanced order-flow and price-action analysis, a liquidity void is closely related to concepts such as a Liquidity Grab and a Fair Value Gap, but it is specifically characterized by the absence of meaningful trade rather than a targeted sweep of existing orders. It highlights where the order book was thin or quickly consumed, leaving a discontinuity in the distribution of traded prices. Because it reflects a historical imbalance between aggressive and passive participation, it is often monitored as a structural feature of market microstructure rather than a simple visual gap.
Context and Usage
In trading contexts, a liquidity void is used to describe an area where the market’s prior move was dominated by one-sided aggression, leaving little evidence of opposing interest. This differs from a Liquidity Grab, which focuses on the intentional triggering of resting orders, and from a Fair Value Gap, which emphasizes a specific three-candle price pattern. A liquidity void instead emphasizes the underlying lack of depth and executed volume across a price band.
Market participants reference liquidity voids when characterizing the quality of a trend leg, the robustness of a price range, or the structural integrity of a move. Because these voids mark regions where the market did not fully transact, they are often treated as incomplete or unfinished business in the historical order flow. As a result, liquidity voids serve as descriptive markers of where the market previously moved inefficiently, without implying any specific trading action by themselves.