On-balance volume (OBV) is a technical analysis indicator intended to relate price and volume in the stock market.
[1] OBV is based on a cumulative total volume.
If OBV fails to go past its previous rally high, then this is a negative divergence, suggesting a weak move.
[4] The technique, originally called "continuous volume" by Woods and Vignola, was later named "on-balance volume" by Joseph Granville who popularized the technique in his 1963 book Granville's New Key to Stock Market Profits.
[2] OBV is generally used to confirm price moves.