The best indicator for Soybeans (ZS)
We backtested 382 indicators across daily, weekly and hourly charts on real Soybeans (ZS) history. Here's what actually worked — risk-adjusted, out-of-sample, with costs.
Volume Oscillator
On the weekly chart, this is the strongest risk-adjusted edge we found for Soybeans (ZS) over ~25.8 years — beating buy-and-hold by 5.8% CAGR.
Best multi-indicator combo
Going long only when all 2 agree was the strongest confluence setup we found for Soybeans (ZS) — trailing buy-and-hold by 0.0% CAGR, out-of-sample. Fewer, higher-conviction trades than any single indicator.
The winner on each chart
Every indicator, ranked
Ranked by Sharpe (risk-adjusted return). Hypothetical, fees included.
| # | Indicator | TF | CAGR | Sharpe | Max DD | Win | Trades | vs B&H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volume Oscillator ✓ | Weekly | 9.1% | 0.77 | -23.4% | 59.0% | 83 | 5.8% |
| 2 | Klinger Oscillator ✓ | Weekly | 8.3% | 0.62 | -33.7% | 58.2% | 110 | 5.1% |
| 3 | Relative Volume Spike ✓ | Weekly | 5.8% | 0.57 | -25.7% | 54.5% | 44 | 2.6% |
| 4 | LSMA 10/30 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 7.7% | 0.54 | -33.8% | 51.0% | 51 | 4.5% |
| 5 | Percentage Price Osc. ✓ | Weekly | 7.3% | 0.52 | -35.9% | 51.2% | 43 | 4.1% |
| 6 | Zero-Lag EMA Cross ✓ | Weekly | 7.3% | 0.52 | -39.6% | 42.6% | 54 | 4.1% |
| 7 | Acceleration Bands ✓ | Weekly | 5.8% | 0.52 | -29.3% | 58.5% | 53 | 2.5% |
| 8 | ZLEMA 10/30 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 7.3% | 0.52 | -39.6% | 42.6% | 54 | 4.1% |
| 9 | PPO Cross ✓ | Weekly | 7.3% | 0.52 | -35.9% | 51.2% | 43 | 4.1% |
| 10 | Piercing Line ✓ | Weekly | 4.0% | 0.51 | -16.2% | 35.7% | 28 | 0.8% |
| 11 | QQE MOD ✓ | Weekly | 6.1% | 0.5 | -33.5% | 42.3% | 52 | 2.9% |
| 12 | TEMA 10/30 Cross ✓ | Weekly | 6.9% | 0.5 | -37.9% | 54.5% | 44 | 3.6% |
| 13 | MACD ✓ | Weekly | 6.8% | 0.48 | -38.1% | 50.0% | 42 | 3.6% |
| 14 | MACD-V ✓ | Weekly | 6.7% | 0.48 | -33.4% | 50.0% | 46 | 3.4% |
✓ = held up out-of-sample. Hypothetical, costs included. See methodology.
For Soybeans (ZS), Volume Oscillator on the weekly timeframe gave the best balance of return and risk in our test. It beat buy-and-hold — but remember: this is a hypothetical backtest of a standard rule, not a recommendation. Markets change. See the methodology and disclaimer.
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