diff --git a/freqtrade/data/converter.py b/freqtrade/data/converter.py
index 680b95ab2..bdb8c3464 100644
--- a/freqtrade/data/converter.py
+++ b/freqtrade/data/converter.py
@@ -275,6 +275,7 @@ def convert_ohlcv_format(
     :param convert_from: Source format
     :param convert_to: Target format
     :param erase: Erase source data (does not apply if source and target format are identical)
+    :param candle_type: Any of the enum CandleType (must match trading mode!)
     """
     from freqtrade.data.history.idatahandler import get_datahandler
     src = get_datahandler(config['datadir'], convert_from)
diff --git a/freqtrade/enums/candletype.py b/freqtrade/enums/candletype.py
index b4052a212..9818bb67b 100644
--- a/freqtrade/enums/candletype.py
+++ b/freqtrade/enums/candletype.py
@@ -11,3 +11,10 @@ class CandleType(str, Enum):
     PREMIUMINDEX = "premiumIndex"
     # TODO-lev: not sure this belongs here, as the datatype is really different
     FUNDING_RATE = "funding_rate"
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_string(cls, value: str) -> 'CandleType':
+        if not value:
+            # Default to spot
+            return CandleType.SPOT
+        return CandleType(value)
diff --git a/tests/leverage/test_candletype.py b/tests/leverage/test_candletype.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3eb73a07c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/leverage/test_candletype.py
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+import pytest
+
+from freqtrade.enums import CandleType
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('input,expected', [
+    ('', CandleType.SPOT),
+    ('spot', CandleType.SPOT),
+    (CandleType.SPOT, CandleType.SPOT),
+    (CandleType.FUTURES, CandleType.FUTURES),
+    (CandleType.INDEX, CandleType.INDEX),
+    (CandleType.MARK, CandleType.MARK),
+    ('futures', CandleType.FUTURES),
+    ('mark', CandleType.MARK),
+    ('premiumIndex', CandleType.PREMIUMINDEX),
+])
+def test_candle_type_from_string(input, expected):
+    assert CandleType.from_string(input) == expected