When does the forex market open? Use the Forex Market Time Zone Converter tool below to view the open and close times of the main Forex trading sessions in your own local time zone.
Definition and Importance of Forex Market Hours
Forex market hours are defined as the time during which trading activity occurs in markets across the globe. The overall Forex market operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, giving it the unique market timings of any major global market.
The importance of Forex market hours is because of two major factors affecting the Forex sector; liquidity and volatility. The Forex market is the most liquid market in the world with up to $6 trillion changing hands in a single day. However, liquidity isn’t spread evenly across the 24 hours. Volatility, in addition to liquidity, also plays an important role in the Forex market and even that isn’t uniform throughout the day.
Overview of Forex Trading Sessions
The Forex market operates on the 24/5 model overall, but there are 4 major trading sessions based in different geographical locations:
- New York Session (1 PM to 10 PM GMT)
- London Session (8 AM to 4 PM GMT)
- Tokyo Session (10 PM to 8 AM GMT)
- Sydney Session (9 PM to 7 AM GMT)
The Sydney and Tokyo sessions overlap with each other, followed by Tokyo and London, which in turn is followed by London and New York. The overlapping of trading sessions results in spikes in volatility and liquidity.
Understanding Major Forex Trading Sessions
What hour does forex start?
There is no singular opening time for the Forex market. It operates 24 hours a day 5 days a week and technically starts with the Sydney session at 4 PM GMT on Sunday and ends with the New York session on late on Friday.
London Session
The London Forex session is from 8 AM to 4 PM GMT. It changes slightly with the daylight adjusted time in summer and reverts back in the fall. The London market is the largest in the world with reportedly over 40% of the entire forex trading volume.
New York Session
The New York Forex session is a close second in terms of trading volume and lasts from 1 PM to 10 PM during weekdays. It also boasts significant Forex trading volume overall and overlaps with the London market.
Tokyo Session
Tokyo is the biggest market in the Eastern side of the world and witnesses major volumes on its own. It overlaps with the London market for a few hours. The session lasts from 10 PM to 8 AM GMT.
Sydney Session
Sydney is the smallest of these markets and its importance is more because of its time zone (9 PM to 7 AM GMT) rather than actual Forex activity. In practice, Hong Kong, Singapore and Frankfurt are just as big as Sydney if not more when it comes to volume.
- Opening and Closing Times for Each Session (GMT and EST)
- New York Session (1 PM to 10 PM GMT, 8 AM to 5 PM)
- London Session (8 AM to 4 PM GMT, 3 AM to 12 PM EST)
- Tokyo Session (10 PM to 8 AM GMT, 7 PM to 4 AM EST)
- Sydney Session (9 PM to 7 AM GMT, 4 PM to 1 AM EST)
What time do forex markets open?
The Forex market starts with the Sydney market at 4 PM on Sunday.
Best Times to Trade Forex
Most Active Trading Hours
The London and New York sessions are the busiest because of several reasons. The primary reason is that they overlap well with each other (1 PM- 3 PM GMT) and that creates a sudden spike in trading volumes. The short overlap between Tokyo and London also experiences a sudden spike in trading volumes. These overlaps are therefore the most active trading hours in Forex.
What hours can forex be traded?
Forex can technically be traded 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, if you have access to enough markets from across the world.
Overlapping Trading Sessions and Their Importance
The overlap between Tokyo and London, as well as London and New York, is important for Forex traders because it signifies the most active trading hours in the market. They are usually accompanied by a sudden spike in trading volumes and volatility, and that is what traders wait for in order to make a profit or determine the short-term trend.
Optimal Trading Times for Different Currency Pairs
Currency trading pairs that are native to trading sessions generally perform better in their native horus. For example, the GBP/USD pair will do well during the London session and even better during the overlap with New York due to the relevance of both currencies.EUR/USD also performs better during the London session. Similarly, the USD/JPY trading pair did well during the Tokyo session, while the USD/AUD session did better during the Sydney trading session.
Forex Market Hours and Trading Strategies
Impact of Market Hours on Trading Strategies
Regular trading sessions (excluding overlaps) have wider spreads and low trading volumes. This is ripe for somewhat long-term trading or swing trading. There is still money to be made during these times.
Overlapping sessions come with increased liquidity and tighter spreads. It is an opportune moment for scalpers and other frequent small trade strategies to make a profit.
Examples of Strategies Tailored to Specific Trading Sessions
There is no perfect trading strategy for every Forex session. However, individual sessions, even involving top Forex destinations like New York or London are relatively dull and encourage longer term strategies like swing trading and position trading.
When it comes to overlapping hours, the market suddenly spikes, and successful strategies include scalping, day trading, and short-term swing trading.
Adjusting Strategies Based on Market Activity
Market activity is generally defined by range trading and price breakouts.
Range trading is when a currency pair trades within a narrow range due to stable market conditions. This is usually accompanied by tighter spreads, and as a result, scalpers and day trades can be successful.
Price breakouts are when the market breaks free of a trading range to either post gains or losses. This is generally an intermediate stage and doesn’t last for too long before the market steadies itself yet again. It is accompanied by high volatility and favors swing traders especially.
Tools for Monitoring Forex Market Hours
Forex Market Hours Monitors
Forex marketing hours can get confusing at times. Traders can use the following resources to monitor the trading sessions and market hours:
- Forex Market Hours Website
- ForexFactory Calendar
- Trading platforms like FXTM, FXStreet, etc, also offer resources for monitoring trading sessions.
- Time Zone Converters
Trading Forex in the right time zones can be a challenging endeavor. Useful Forex timezone converters include:
- Forex Market Hours Timezone convertors
- TimeZoneConverter
- MarketBulls Time Zone Converter
- ForexFactory Time Zone Converter
- Myfxbook Time Zone Converter
- Apps and Widgets for Tracking Forex Market Hours
You can integrate different APIs and widgets to track Forex market hours. They include:
- Easy Forex Hours on the Apple App Store
- Forex Hours, Forex Sessions app on Android
- Markets widget from Myfxbook
- ForexTime Google Chrome Extension
Additional Resources and Further Reading
Educational Articles and Guides on Forex Market Hours. Recommended resources included:
- Forex market hours guide on Investopedia
- Forex market hours guide on forexbrokers.com
- Forex market hours guide on Daily Forex
- Forex market hours guide on Skilling
- Recommended Books and Courses for In-Depth Understanding
Recommended readings include:
- Currency Trading for Dummies by Kathleen Brooks and Brian Dolan
- Naked Forex by Alex Nekritin and Walter Peters
- The Man Who Solved the Market by Gregory Zuckerman
Recommended courses include:
- Top courses on Udemy
- Top courses on Coursera
- Links to Tools and Software for Forex Market Monitoring
Useful tools and software include:
- Markets widget from Myfxbook
- Metatrader MT5 and MT4
- TradingView
- cTrader
Disclaimer
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Braden Chase is an investor, trading specialist, and former research specialist for Forex.com who helps aspiring investors develop the confidence and habits they need to make an income from the market. Braden has served as a registered commodity futures representative for domestic and internationally-regulated brokerages and has also spoken & moderated numerous forex and finance industry panels across the globe.