Best Times to Trade Forex (Hours, Days and Months)
The best time to trade Forex occurs between 10:00 – 17.00 PM (GMT) from Tuesday to Thursday. The best month to trade depends on the Forex pair you have selected as you can see at the end of this analysis.
Here is a full analysis of the Forex Markets Hours:
Forex Market Trading Hours
In general, the best hours to trade occur during overlaps, and especially during the London and New York overlap. We can extend this timeframe to include one hour before the New York opening and two hours after the London session closing. That means:
- 10:00 – 17.00 PM (GMT) or else 6:00 AM 1:00 PM (EST)
Forex Markets Hours and Overlaps:
The Foreign Exchange market is open 24/5 between Mondays to Fridays. The Forex daily activity is divided into 4 separate sessions. These are the Forex Market hours (summer timezones):
(1) London Session, 7:00 AM to 16:00 GMT (3:00 am to 12:00 noon EST)
(2) New York Session, 12:00 PM to 21:00 PM GMT (8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST)
(3) Sydney Session, 22:00 PM to 7:00 AM GMT (6:00 pm to 3:00 am EST)
(4) Tokyo Session, 23:00 PM to 8:00 AM GMT (7:00 pm to 4:00 am EST)
■ Summer Timezones (April – October)
| Time Zone | EDT | GMT |
|---|---|---|
| London Open / London Close | 3:00 AM to 12:00 PM | 7:00 AM to 16:00 |
| New York Open New York Close | 8:00 AM to 17:00 | 12:00 PM to 21:00 |
| Sydney Open / Close | 18:00 to 3:00 AM | 22:00 to 7:00 AM |
| Tokyo Open / Close | 19:00 to 4:00 AM | 23:00 to 8:00 AM |
During Winter, there are some changes in the Forex Market hours, as follows:
■ Winter Timezones (October-April)
| Time Zone | EDT | GMT |
|---|---|---|
| London Open / Close | 3:00 AM to 12:00 PM | 8:00 AM to 17:00 |
| New York Open / Close | 8:00 AM to 17:00 | 13.00 to 22.00 |
| Sydney Open / Close | 16:00 to 1:00 AM | 21:00 to 6:00 AM |
| Tokyo Open / Close | 18:00 PM to 3:00 AM | 23:00 to 8:00 AM |
Three Forex Market Overlaps
Forex overlaps occur when two of the above sessions are opened simultaneously. During overlaps, the volume activity is maximized. Here are the three Forex Session Overlaps (summer timezone):
(i) London and New York Overlap: 12:00 PM TO 16:00 GMT (or 8:00 AM to 12:00 noon EST)
(ii) Sydney and Tokyo Overlap: 23:00 to 7:00 AM GMT (or 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM EST)
(iii) London and Tokyo Overlap: 7:00 AM to 8:00 AM GMT (or 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM EST)
Many traders prefer to open positions only during these overlaps. Moreover, there are many automated systems (Eas) that are programmed to trade only during overlaps.
FOREX TRADING SESSIONS ANALYSIS
(A) EUROPEAN SESSION
The European session is a high-volatility session. About 30% of all Foreign Exchange action occurs during this session. The London session commences at 7:30 AM and stays open until 15:30 GMT. This period is expanded from 7.00 AM to 16.00 GMT due to the German and France capital markets operation.
■ News Releases:
Key news is released, usually between 9:00 AM until 12:00 PM GMT.
■ Most Active Forex Pairs:
The most active currency pairs during this session are EURUSD, GBPUSD, EURGBP, USDCHF , and other pairs including EUR, GBP, and CHF.
(B) US TRADING SESSION
The US session starts at 12:00 GMT in summer timezone and 13:00 GMT in winter timezone and lasts until 21.00 GMT in summer timezone and 22:00 GMT in winter timezone. High volatility is always expected during the American session.
■ News Releases:
The most important news is released between 12:00 GMT and 14:00 GMT.
■ Most Active Forex Pairs:
During the American Session, the US Dollar, Canadian Dollar and Mexican Peso are becoming very active. The most relative active pairs are EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCHF, USDJPY, but also other pairs that include the US Dollar, and especially USDCAD and USDMXN.
(C) SYDNEY TRADING SESSION
The Pacific session is a low-volatility and limited liquidity session.
■ News Releases:
-Regarding the Australian Dollar, important news is released at 20.30 GMT, at 22.30 GMT but especially at 00.30 AM GMT.
-Regarding the New Zeeland Dollar, important news is released at 20.00 GMT and at 21.45 GMT.
■ Most Active Forex Pairs:
The most active currency pairs during this session include AUD, NZD, and JPY, for example, NZDUSD, AUDUSD, EURAUD, AUDNZD.
(D) TOKYO TRADING SESSION
The Asian (Tokyo) session is also characterized by limited volatility and liquidity. As the session comes to the end, volatility increases as the market enters the London session. The London and Tokyo Overlap occurs between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM GMT, or else 3:00 AM to 4:00 AM EST.
■ News Releases:
Key Japanese Yen news is usually released at 23.50 GMT. Another important news releases time is 4.30 AM GMT.
■ Most Active Forex Pairs:
The most active currency pairs during this session include JPY, and especially USD/JPY and EUR/JPY. Many times the Tokyo session defines the key trends for the whole Forex trading day including also other pairs that do not include Asian currencies.
Best Days of the Week to Trade
As the week comes to an end, at Friday, day-traders prefer to close their positions. They don't like to risk uncertain conditions in the Monday's opening which may blow out their account, no matter if they have placed a tight stop-loss.
- Mondays are usually quite reserved. As the market prepares to absorb the upcoming news and updates of the week.
- Tuesday is a very good day to trade that is characterized by high liquidity and large fluctuations.
- Wednesday isn't as much liquid as Tuesday but it is the third most important day of the week to trade. As Wednesday ends, at exactly 00:00, the swap rates get tripped as Wednesday includes the swap difference of three days (Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday). That means go long on currency pairs with positive interest rate differential and go short on currencies with negative interest rate differential.
- Thursday is a very good day to trade as Tuesday, high fluctuations and good liquidity.
- Friday is characterized by moderate liquidity and high risk. Often, important news is released on Friday. As it was mentioned before, most positions are closed as the trading week comes to an end, in late Friday.
In overall, the most active part of the week is the middle of the week (from Tuesday to Thursday).
Best Months to Trade
The best month to trade depends on the Forex pair you have selected as you can see in the following table. The analysis is based on 13.5 years of relative currency performance.
Table: Forex Monthly Statistics (TradingCenter.org research)
| MONTHLY CALENDAR | FOREX PAIRS TO GO LONG |
FOREX PAIRS TO GO SHORT |
| JANUARY |
EURCHF, USDJPY, USDCHF, GBPJPY, GBPCHF |
EURUSD, AUDUSD, EURAUD, EURCAD |
| FEBRUARY | USDJPY, EURGBP |
GBPCHF, EURUSD, GBPUSD, EURCHF, NZDUSD, EURAUD |
| MARCH | USDJPY, EURGBP, EURJPY,GBPJPY | GBPCHF |
| APRIL |
AUDUSD, GBPCHF, GBPUSD, NZDUSD, EURJPY, GBPJPY |
USDCAD, EURAUD, EURCAD |
| MAY | (-) |
EURUSD, EURCAD, GBPJPY, USDCAD, AUDUSD, EURCHF |
| JUNE |
EURUSD, GBPUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, EURJPY, EURCAD |
EURCHF, USDCHF, GBPCHF |
| JULY | DO NOT TRADE IN JULY | |
| AUGUST | USDCAD, EURGBP, EURAUD |
AUDUSD, USDJPY, EURCHF, NZDUSD, EURJPY,GBPJPY, GBPCHF |
| SEPTEMBER |
EURUSD, GBPUSD, EURCHF, EURJPY, EURAUD |
USDCAD, USDCHF |
| OCTOBER | USDCAD, NZDUSD |
USDJPY, EURCHF, USDCHF, GBPCHF, EURGBP, EURAUD |
| NOVEMBER |
EURUSD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, EURGBP, EURJPY |
GBPUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, EURCHF, GBPCHF |
| DECEMBER |
EURUSD, EURCAD, AUDUSD, NZDUSD, EURGBP, EURJPY, EURAUD, GBPJPY |
USDCHF, GBPCHF |
Full data can be found at TradingCenter.org. » Find the full researching data here
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■ Best Times to Trade Forex (Hours, Days and Months)
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