At IC Markets Global there’s always a market for you to trade. Our dedicated specialists are available for you 24 hours a day, 5 days a week.
Start TradingThe trading hours for all currency pairs is server time to server time daily ( on Friday), whereas for Gold is server time to All other Metals (XAG, XPD, XPT) open for trading at server time (Monday) and close at server time daily ( on Friday).
You will also be able to view the Trading Hours from within your MetaTrader trading terminal by following the process outlined below.
Right click on any instrument in the ‘Market Watch’ section, then left click on the ‘Specification’ button, a new window will open that shows the Trading Hours for the pair selected.
Trading Hours are subject to change. The most accurate details are those displayed in your account through the electronic trading system.
Please refer to the platform for the exact trading session.
Currency Pairs | Trading Hours (server time) |
---|---|
All | Daily: – |
All | Friday: – |
USD/RUB | Daily: |
Metals | Trading Hours (server time) |
---|---|
XAU/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
XAU/EUR | - (Friday: - ) |
XAU/AUD | - (Friday: - ) |
XAG/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
XAG/EUR | - (Friday: - ) |
XPT/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
XPD/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
Spot Energies | Trading Hours (server time) |
---|---|
XTI/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
XNG/USD | - (Friday: - ) |
XBR/USD | Monday: - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: - Friday: - |
Soft CFDs on Commodities | Daily Trading hours (server time) | Daily Break (server time) |
---|---|---|
Corn | - | - , - |
Coffee | - | - |
Soybean | - | - , - |
Sugar | - | - |
Wheat | - | - , - |
Cotton | - | - |
OJ | - | - |
Cocoa | - | - |
Index | Reference | Daily Trading hours (server time) | Daily Break (server time) |
---|---|---|---|
UK | FTSE Index | - (Monday Open , Friday Close ) | - |
US | Russell Index | - (Monday Open , Friday Close ) | - |
US30 | DJIA Index | - (Monday Open , Friday Close ) | - |
US | E-mini S&P Index | - (Monday Open , Friday Close ) | - |
USTEC | E-mini Nasdaq | - (Monday Open , Friday Close ) | - |
AUS | Australia Index | - , - | - , - |
CA60 | Canada 60 TSX Index | - | - |
CHINA50 | FTSE ChinaA50 Index | - , - | - , - |
CHINAH | Hong Kong ChinaH Index | - , - , - | - , - , - |
DE40 | Germany 40 DAX Index | - , - (Friday Close ) | - , - |
ES35 | IBEX 35 Spain Index | - | - |
F40 | France 40 CAC Index | - | - |
HK50 | Hong Kong 50 Index | - , - , - | - , - , - |
IT40 | Italian 40 Index | - | - |
JP | Japan NIKKEI Index | - , - (Friday - ) | - , - |
MidDE50 | Germany Mid50 Index | - | - |
NETH25 | Netherlands 25 Index | - | - |
NOR25 | Norway 25 Index | - | - |
SA40 | South Africa 40 Index | - | - |
SE30 | Sweden 30 Index | - | - |
STOXX50 | EUROSTOXX 50 Index | - | - |
SWI20 | Switzerland 20 Index | - | - |
TecDE30 | Germany Tech30 Index | - | - |
IN50 | India 50 Index | - , - | - |
Futures | Trading Hours (server time) | Daily Break (server time) |
---|---|---|
Brent Crude Oil Futures(BRENTxx) | Monday: - ; Tuesday - Friday: - , - | - |
WTI Crude Oil Futures(WTIxx) | Monday Open: , Friday Close: | - |
US Volatility Index Futures(VIXxx) | Monday Open: , Friday Close: | - |
US Dollar Index Futures(DXYxx) | Monday Open: , Friday Close: | - |
Cryptocurrency | MT4 & MT5 |
---|---|
BCHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
BTCUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
ETHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
LTCUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
XRPUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
XLMUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
DOTUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
LNKUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
DSHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
EOSUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
ADAUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
XTZUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
DOGUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
UNIUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
BNBUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
SOLUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
MTCUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
KSMUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
GLMUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
AVXUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday |
Cryptocurrency | cTrader |
---|---|
BCHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday |
BTCUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday |
ETHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday |
LTCUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday |
DSHUSD | Monday - Thursday Friday |
Stocks | Stock Exchange Name | Trading sessions |
---|---|---|
ASX | Australian Stock Exchange | - |
NYSE | New York Stock Exchange | - |
NAS | NASDAQ Basic | - |
ETR | Xetra German Stock Exchange | - |
AMS | Amsterdam Stock Exchange | - |
PAR | Paris Stock Exchange | - |
MAD | Madrid Stock Exchange | - |
LSE | London Stock Exchange | - |
Sybmol | Name | Trading hours |
---|---|---|
ITBTP10Y | BTP Italian Bonds | Monday to Friday |
EURBOBL | Euro Bobl | Monday to Friday |
EURBUND | Euro Bund | Monday to Friday |
EURSCHA | Euro Schatz | Monday to Friday |
UKGB | UK Long Gilt | Monday to Friday |
UST10Y | US 10 YR T-Note | Monday to Friday |
UST05Y | US 5 YR T-Note | Monday to Friday |
UST30Y | US 30 YR T-Note | Monday to Friday |
JGB10Y | Japanese 10yr | Monday to Friday (Daily Break - ) |
The EUR/USD is one of the world’s most widely traded currency pairs, and the best time to trade it can depend on various factors, such as market volatility, liquidity, and economic events. Here are some insights into the best times to trade EUR/USD during the opening hours till noon GMT, and the US trading session overlaps with the London session.
The best time to trade EUR/USD for momentum strategy (and trend strategy) is the period from EUR USD opening hours till GMT noon (London open till noon) and the period when the US trading session overlaps the London session ( GMT – GMT).
Below is typical EURUSD daily volatility:
Forex trading session times are presented in the table below:
Session | Major Market | Hours (GMT) |
---|---|---|
Asian Session (GMT) | Tokyo | 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. ( - ) |
European Session (London session forex time GMT) | London | 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. ( - ) |
North American Session (US session) | New York | noon to 8 p.m. ( - ) |
The European trading session, which begins with the opening of the London market at a.m. GMT, is usually the most active and liquid session for trading the EUR/USD. During this time, market participants actively buy and sell the euro and the US dollar, which leads to increased volatility and trading opportunities.
The best time to trade the EUR/USD during this period is typically between a.m. and p.m. GMT, which is the time when the London and European markets overlap. This overlap creates a significant amount of liquidity in the market, which can lead to tighter spreads and more favorable trading conditions.
During this period, traders should also pay attention to economic releases and announcements, such as the European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate decision, which can significantly impact the EUR/USD exchange rate.
The US trading session, which begins with opening the New York market at noon GMT, overlaps with the London trading session, leading to increased trading activity and liquidity.
The best time to trade the EUR/USD during this period is typically between p.m. and p.m. GMT, which is the time when the US and European markets overlap. During this period, traders can use the increased liquidity and volatility to execute trades with tighter spreads and better trading conditions.
Traders should also pay attention to economic releases and announcements during this period, such as the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision and non-farm payroll data, which can significantly impact the EUR/USD exchange rate.
In conclusion, the best time to trade EUR/USD during opening hours till noon GMT is between a.m. and p.m. GMT. The best time to trade during the US trading session overlaps with the London session, generally between p.m. and p.m. GMT. However, traders should also consider economic events and market conditions to make informed trading decisions.
See the image below:
One of the main advantages of day trading in foreign exchange (forex) is that the trader can trade 24 hours a day. However, a trader is likely to make money only when there are many transactions in the forex pair he is trading. Therefore, many traders want to find the best time to trade forex GMT, especially for the famous EUR/USD forex pair.
During these hours, the forex pair should be volatile enough to generate more profit than the commission or spread, which has to be paid to the broker. Since working long hours can reduce efficiency, the traders will usually determine when the forex pair will fluctuate most and then trade only during these three to four-hour periods.
Most liquid London session forex pairs are presented below, and their average daily pip movement:
Major forex pairs | Forex average daily range in pips |
---|---|
EUR/CHF | 35 |
NZD/USD | 39 |
USD/JPY | 41 |
EUR/USD | 44 |
USD/CHF | 44 |
EUR/GBP | 50 |
EUR/JPY | 55 |
USD/CAD | 56 |
GBP/USD | 82 |
GBP/JPY | 94 |
Average pip movement | 54 |
During the week, the forex market is open 24 hours a day since time zone differences ensure that a global market is always open. However, traders should know that the forex pairs traded in each market will differ. Hence, the peak time for the activity for each forex pair will be different. For example, when the European forex markets are open, forex pairs with the British Pound (GBP) or euro (EUR) are traded extensively.
See EURUSD pips per hour statistics:
EURUSD volatility during the week:
Volatility charts show the EUR/USD pair’s pip movement for different hours of the day in GMT. It is observed that the pip movement will increase significantly starting from hours daily and continue to remain higher to hours. The pip movement for each hour then reduces significantly, so there is less volatility, which the traders can profit from. Hence, day traders should place their orders between and hours GMT. If they trade outside these hours, the pip movement is usually insufficient to compensate for the broker commissions. Though the forex market volatility varies daily, the times when the markets are most volatile do not change. In some areas, daylight saving time may affect forex traders’ trading hours.
The best time to trade EURUSD is 4 hours, and the Daily chart time frame. However, the small volatility makes EURUSD unsuitable for overtrading and trade using small time frames such as a 5-minute chart. Though a forex trader can start trading in the 13 hours starting from hours GMT, most people have a busy schedule and cannot spend all their time in forex trading. Hence, the forex traders want to determine when the market is most active. According to statistical data, the market is most volatile when the London and New York forex markets are open for three hours between and hours GMT. Since the number of forex trades in both markets is high, the spreads are the lowest, making it easier for a forex trader to make a profit since he has to pay lower commissions. Also, the forex market’s volatility is highest during this period, making it easier for a day trader to profit.
Trend traders must trade when the EU session opens and when the EU and USA sessions overlap. Breakout traders must wait for important news or periods when the trend consolidates. Finally, scalpers can use Asia session small volatility to make better profits. Of course, all these tips are not rules, and different strategies and trading habits can give various outcomes.
Fxigor
Trader at Leanta Capital
Igor has been a trader since Currently, Igor works for several prop trading companies.
He is an expert in financial niche, long-term trading, and weekly technical levels.
The primary field of Igor's research is the application of machine learning in algorithmic trading.
Education: Computer Engineering and Ph.D. in machine learning.
Igor regularly publishes trading-related videos on the Fxigor Youtube channel.
To contact Igor write on:
[email protected]
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The FX market is open 24 hours a day from Monday (or Sunday) to Friday (or Saturday) - as one part of the world goes to sleep, another wakes up. That's why we talk about Forex market hours and Forex trading sessions - to describe where and when the different Forex trading sessions are open to trading.
When you first came to know about the global currency market, you probably came in touch with marketing materials claiming that this market remains open 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Anyone who traded equities (stocks) or any other commodities knows that stock exchanges or other markets are usually open during banking hours in a day. However, being a decentralized market, the Forex market has no rigid trading hours.
Nonetheless, the foreign exchange market is an international market that stretches from major financial centers like Sydney and Tokyo in the East to all the way to San Francisco in the West - all located in vastly different time zones. By the time traders in Tokyo go home after work, banks are not even open in New York, which operates during forex market hours est - from 8 a.m. to p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Because the Forex market operates in multiple time zones, it can be accessed at any time. Yet, seasoned traders know that there is an unofficial concept of Forex market hours. It starts at am, in Sydney, Australia - at the Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) zone, which is 10 hours ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or GMT +10 and ends at p.m. in New York, the United States at the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone, which is 5 hours behind the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or GMT
You see, the global currency market is dominated by large banks, commercial companies taking part in import and export of goods and services, central banks, hedge funds, and retail forex traders.
Imagine that a deal was made last week between Mitsubishi in Japan and a car dealer in Australia who wants to import units of Mitsubishi's latest Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). According to the contract between two parties, the Australian car importer would settle the invoice amount on the first hour of Monday. As soon as the banks open in Tokyo, the Australian importer will need to convert its Australian Dollars to Japanese Yen in order to pay for the cars to the Japanese car manufacturer.
As the payment for cars would a substantial amount, the demand for the Japanese Yen will suddenly go up early on Monday morning, which will turn the Yen bullish. As a result, the AUD/JPY will become bearish.
This is just a simple example, but this is the reason why often prices start to move, and trends are created. The point of this illustration is to make a point that when Japanese and Australian banks are open to conducting international transactions, there is a high probability that the respective currencies, such as the Australian Dollar and the Japanese Yen, will experience increased trading volume. Consequently, the prices of these currencies will fluctuate more compared to outside of the banking hours.
Theoretically, it is true that there is no central exchange in the Forex market, and anyone can buy and sell currencies any time of the day or any day of the week.
Nonetheless, to trade a Forex pair, you need a counterparty. To buy something you need someone else to sell you want you are trying to buy and vice versa. So, if you are trying to buy USD/JPY in the middle of the night when nobody in the United States or Japan are awake, then there is a good chance that you will have a hard time doing business. This is why in practice; you should spend your active trading hours when there are ample buyers and sellers in the market.
Even if some brokers allow trading during the weekends, the prices of various currency pairs hardly move on Saturday and Sunday. If you are a short-term day trader, who opens and closes trades within a day, trading outside banking hours in major financial centers around the world will also feel like you are trading during the weekend. Because if major financial institutions and professional traders are not placing huge orders that move the market, there is no reason for the solid trends to take place.
Hence, the concept of Forex Market Hours derives from the notion that when major financial markets are open in a given time zone, the volume and liquidity in the market remains high, which in turn reduces the difference between the bid and ask prices and helps traders to fill their orders relatively easily without incurring slippage.
After all, as a retail Forex trader with limited capital, you will not be in a position to move the market. You will solely rely on larger players like banks and institutional investors to create the trends and hopefully catch a few to turn a profit. This is why short-term retail Forex traders should trade only during active banking hours and avoid looking for trading opportunities when the forex market hours clock stops ticking.
Technically speaking, if you exchange U.S. Dollars to get some British Pound for pocket money at an Airport Foreign Exchange Kiosk after arriving in London, in the middle of the night, it would be also considered as a foreign exchange trade. However, as you can guess by now, large billion-dollar, cross-border, transactions do not happen at 3 a.m. at the parking lot of the Heathrow Airport.
These market-moving transactions happen among large banks during their respective banking hours.
Moreover, not all branches of a certain big bank will do these large-scale cross-border transactions. For example, a small branch of the Bank of America in Louisville, Kentucky. However, its downtown Manhattan branch in New York will certainly engage in large-scale foreign exchange deals. Similarly, a branch of the Swiss multinational investment bank, UBS Group AG, in Bangkok will have a lower transaction volume in the Forex market compared to its branch located in a major Asian financial hub like Singapore. Hence, banking hours in the time zone of major financial centers like Tokyo in Japan, Singapore City in Singapore, Frankfurt in Germany, London in the United Kingdom, and New York in the United States generate the bulk of the trading volume in the Forex market. Therefore, liquidity and volatility are usually higher when markets are open in these time zones.
Besides banks engaged in commercial cross-border currency transactions, institutional investors and hedge funds speculating in the international stock exchanges also generate a high volume of foreign exchange transactions. Hedge funds with international exposure often buy and sell a large number of stocks across the globe to diversify their portfolios.
Coincidentally, some of the major forex exchange hubs also host the major stock exchanges. For example, the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange are located in, you guessed it right, in New York; The London Stock Exchange is located in London, and the Tokyo Shoken Torihikijo is based in Tokyo.
So, cross-border investments that require moving funds from one end of the globe to another generally contributes to a higher level of trading volume in the global foreign exchange market. Furthermore, when banks and stock exchanges in more than one major financial centers are open simultaneously, the trading volume and liquidity go up substantially.
This is why the beginning of the New York trading session has usually generated the bulk of the trading opportunities for short-term traders because it opens when the London trading session is also open across the Atlantic. Hence, if you overlay the trading volatility in a forex market hours chart, you can see that it spikes up when trading begins in the financial center located next in the time zone. And so Overlapping hours of the London trading session and the New York trading session is the best time to trade forex, since the market is most active.
If you are a swing trader or a trend trader who likes to keep positions open overnight or several days at a time, then paying attention to the forex market hours chart in figure 2 may not be that important. However, most Forex traders are day traders and different trading sessions based on the time zone and geographic location of the financial centers around the world will have a substantial impact on the bottom line.
While the actual trading strategy you have may not change, knowing when to trade can certainly help you stop wasting time looking for trades when are no trading opportunities in the market. Furthermore, success in Forex trading in highly depends on timing, as trends can often reverse and wipe out the profits in your open trades. Knowing when to enter and exit the market based on active Forex market hour can have an immensely positive impact on your profitability and aid in building the confidence you need to succeed in this agile market environment.
Let's take a look at three major Forex market hour-based strategies you can apply today to improve your win rate and increase profitability.
Price gaps are the areas on a price chart that represents a missing price data in a chart. While a lot of brokers also show price gaps in line charts, it is best illustrated in a bar or candlestick chart. When a currency pair sharply goes up or down with no transaction in between, it is represented in a price gap.
While most brokers suspend trading during the weekend, the fact is that economic news and geopolitical events still occur on Saturdays and Sundays. As a result, the valuation of different currency pairs can change after the brokers suspend trading on Friday.
When the market re-opens on Monday morning, at a.m. in Sydney time, you will often see that there is a huge gap between the closing price of Friday and the opening price on Monday. For example, let's say a hostile country like Iran might have announced to test a nuclear weapon after the market closed on Friday. It will certainly create panic about the global world order and might affect the oil supply, which in turn will affect USD/JPY. As a result, the value of the U.S. Dollar may drop during the weekend. When the market opens on Monday, the USD/JPY price might open significantly lower compared to Friday's closing price.
Trading price gaps on Mondays can be very profitable as most often gaps are filled before the actual trend takes place, be it the continuation of the trend in the direction of the price gap or a complete reversal.
In figure 3, we can see that the USD/JPY price opened much higher on Monday, July 3, , at compared to the closing price on Friday, which was on June 28, While the uptrend continued throughout Monday, a bearish retracement started on Tuesday, July 2, , and the gap was filled before the uptrend resumed.
The London session is responsible for around 30% of the trading volume, which is the highest among all major Forex market sessions around the world. Hence, often major trends start and end during the London Forex market hours.
If you are a Forex trader who applies breakout trading strategies, it makes perfect sense to look for breakout trades at the opening hours of the London market open. To do so, of course, you need to trade in smaller time frames like the 5-minute or the minute charts.
In terms of the actual trading strategy, trading during the London market opening hour is no different than trading any other time of the day. However, given the significant increase in trading volume at this time, it makes breakout trading much more lucrative.
In figure 4, we can see that the EUR/USD was mostly trading within a narrow range and the trading volume was relatively low. But, as soon as the market opened at a.m. in London time, the trading volume spiked up and within minutes the EUR/USD broke below the consolidation zone, starting a sustained downtrend in the market.
If you are a breakout trader, and only have an hour to trade per day, looking for trading opportunities during the London market opening hours can often provide you with ample trades that you may not find at any other time of the day.
As we discussed earlier, when the market in New York opens, the London trading session has already progressed halfway for the day. As a result, the trading volume in the Forex market typically reaches the highest during the day at the opening hours of the New York trading session.
To illustrate the situation at the opening of the New York trading session, take a look at figure 5 to see how the trading volume spiked up the moment market opened.
Most short-term intraday traders decide to trade during the second half of the London session. Because during this time, two of the largest financial centers are operational, which increases liquidity in the market. High market liquidity is a pre-requisite of low spreads and short-term traders who only bag pips at a time need low spreads to reduce their cost of business.
If you are an intraday trader, trading during this particular time of the day will certainly be going to increase your odds of success regardless of which technical trading strategy you are pursuing.
The Bottom Line
In the traditional investment environment, volatility is seen as an adverse condition that is associated with risks. In fact, academic finance loathes volatility and try to develop investment strategies that reduce its effect on a portfolio. However, speculative trading, such as trading in the Forex market, requires a decent level of volatility to generate profits. After all, without ample volatility, when the market remains too calm, no profitable trades can be executed.
Hence, knowing which time of the day the Forex market remains most active is an integral part of becoming a successful trader. The best time to trade the global foreign exchange market is when other traders are active in the market and trading volume remains healthy enough for spreads to remain tight.
When banks, stock markets, and commodity exchanges in major financial centers are operational, it creates the underlying liquidity in the Forex market that is necessary for volatility.
You can be a price action trader, or your strategy might rely on a combination of technical indicators to generate trading signals. Regardless of how you trade, knowing when to trade can make or break your strategy.
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