Glossary · Chart and price

Double top (and double bottom)

A reversal pattern where price fails twice at about the same high, then breaks the low between the peaks; a double bottom is its mirror image.

By Sky Trade editorial teamUpdated November 5, 2026

A double top looks like the letter M. Price rallies to a high, pulls back, rallies again to about the same level and fails. The low between the two peaks is the neckline, and the pattern is complete only when price closes below it. A double bottom is the W-shaped version at the end of a downtrend.

The pattern describes a market that tried twice to go higher and couldn't. It is popular because it is easy to see — which is also its weakness: almost any pair of similar highs looks like a potential double top until price breaks to a new high.

Points that keep traders honest:

Without the neckline break it is not a double top, just two highs.
The pattern carries more weight after a clear trend and at a notable level than in the middle of a range.
The classic measured move — the pattern's height projected from the neckline — is a rough guide, not a target.

On short expiries the neckline break is the key moment, but false breakouts of the neckline are common. See chart patterns for double tops, head and shoulders and triangles.

Example

EUR/USD peaks at 1.0950, dips to 1.0920, rallies to 1.0948 and fails. A close at 1.0915, below the 1.0920 neckline, completes the double top; its 30-pip height points roughly towards 1.0890.

Learn more in the academy

Chart patterns: double tops, head and shoulders, triangles, flags
How the classic chart patterns form, where the neckline and measured move come from, how to tell a valid pattern from a forced one and why they fail.

Related terms

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