Benner Cycles

📜 Overview

The Benner Cycles indicator is a visually intuitive overlay that maps out one of the most historically referenced market timing models—Samuel T. Benner’s Cycles—directly onto your chart. This tool highlights three distinct types of market years: Panic, Peak, and Buy years, based on the rhythmic patterns first published by Benner in the late 19th century.

Benner's work is legendary among financial historians and cycle theorists. His original charts, dating back to the 1800s, remarkably anticipated economic booms, busts, and recoveries by following repeating year intervals. This modern adaptation brings that ancient rhythm into your TradingView workspace.


🔍 Background

Samuel T. Benner (1832–1913) was an Ohioan ironworks businessman and farmer who, after losing everything in the Panic of 1873, sought to uncover the secrets of economic cycles. His work led to the famous Benner's Cycle Chart, which forecasts business activity using repeatable intervals of panic, prosperity, and opportunity.

Benner’s method was based on a combination of numerological, agricultural, and empirical observations—not unlike early forms of technical and cyclical analysis. His legacy survives through a set of three rotating intervals for each market condition.

George Tritch was the individual responsible for preserving and publishing Samuel T. Benner’s economic cycle charts after Benner's death. While Benner was the original creator of the Benner Cycle, Tritch is known for reproducing and circulating the Benner chart in the early 20th century, helping it gain broader recognition among traders, economists, and financial historians.


🛠️ Features

• Overlay Background Highlights shades the chart background to reflect the current year's cycle type
  
• Configurable Year Range defines your own historical scope using Start Year and End Year
  
• Fully Customizable Colors & Opacity
  
• Live Statistics Table (optional) displays next projected Panic, Peak, and Buy years as well as current year’s market phase
  
• Cycle Phase Logic (optional) prioritizes highlighting in order of Panic > Peak > Buy if overlaps occur
  

📈 Use Cases

• Macro Timing Tool – Use the cycle phases to align with broader economic rhythms (especially useful for long-term investors or cycle traders).
  
• Market Sentiment Guide – Panic years may coincide with recessions or major selloffs; Buy years may signal deep value or accumulation opportunities.
  
• Overlay for Historical Studies – Perfect for comparing past major market movements (e.g., 1837, 1929, 2008) with their corresponding cycle phase. See known limitations below.
  
• Forecasting Reference – Identify where we are in the repeating Benner rhythm and prepare for what's likely ahead.
  

⚠️ Limitations

❗ Not Predictive in Isolation: Use in conjunction with other tools.
❗ Calendar-Based Only: This indicator is strictly time-based and does not factor in price action, volume, or volatility.
❗ Historical Artifact, Not a Guarantee
❗ Data Availability: This indicator's historical output is constrained by the available price history of the underlying ticker. Therefore, it cannot display cycles prior to the earliest candle on the chart.