Forex Market Hours: Trading Sessions and Best Times to Trade

Live tool: see which sessions are open right now, converted to your time zone, on our forex market hours clock.

When is the forex market open?

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week. Trading starts on Sunday at about 5pm New York time and closes on Friday at about 5pm New York time. During the week, activity passes between four main trading sessions: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. The busiest period is usually when the London and New York sessions overlap, roughly 8am to noon New York time.

Forex has no central exchange, so there is no single official opening bell. Session times are conventions based on business hours in each financial centre, and your broker's platform will have its own server time. Treat the times below as guides rather than exact rules.

Forex trading sessions in UTC

Session times shift against UTC when countries change their clocks for daylight saving time. The UK and US move their clocks forward in March and back in October or November, while Australia does the opposite, and Japan does not change at all.

"Northern winter" here means roughly November to March, when the UK and US are on standard time and Sydney is on daylight saving time. "Northern summer" means roughly April to October. The changeover dates do not line up exactly, as explained below. Each session is shown as about 8am to 5pm local time in its financial centre.

The same sessions in New York time

Because the weekly open and close are set by New York time, many traders find it easier to use New York time year-round. In New York time, London runs from about 3am to noon and New York from about 8am to 5pm, in both summer and winter, apart from the few weeks each year when US and UK clock changes are out of step.

Session overlaps: when the market is most active

Liquidity and volatility tend to be highest when two major sessions are open at the same time.

• London and New York: about 13:00 to 17:00 UTC in northern winter and 12:00 to 16:00 UTC in northern summer, or roughly 8am to noon New York time. This is usually the most active window of the day, and many major US economic releases come out during it.
• Tokyo and London: a short overlap around the London open, about 08:00 to 09:00 UTC in northern winter and 07:00 to 09:00 UTC in northern summer.
• Sydney and Tokyo: roughly 00:00 to 06:00 or 07:00 UTC, when Asia-Pacific pairs and yen crosses are most active.

Spreads on major pairs are usually tightest during the London session and the London and New York overlap. They are often wider in the quiet hours after New York closes and before Tokyo is fully active. Our guide to forex spreads explains why liquidity affects your trading costs.

Daylight saving time: the weeks that catch traders out

Different countries change their clocks on different dates, which temporarily shifts how sessions line up:

• United States: clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November.
• UK and EU: clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.
• Australia (Sydney): clocks go forward on the first Sunday in October and back on the first Sunday in April.
• Japan: no daylight saving time.

For about two to three weeks in March and about one week around the end of October, London and New York are four hours apart instead of the usual five. During those weeks, the overlap starts an hour earlier in London time, and US data releases arrive an hour earlier than usual for UK and European traders. If you trade a specific window, such as an opening range breakout, check your platform's clock against these dates.

Best times to trade forex

There is no single best time for everyone. It depends on the pairs you trade and your strategy.

• Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD or USD/CHF: the London session and the London and New York overlap usually offer the most movement and the tightest spreads.
• Trading USD/JPY or yen crosses: the Tokyo session and the London open can both be active.
• Trading AUD/USD or NZD/USD: the Sydney and Tokyo sessions, plus the New York session, are worth watching.
• Short-term strategies: scalping and breakout styles generally need active markets. See our guides to the scalping strategy and breakout trading strategy.
• Swing trading: the exact hour matters less, though entry timing can still affect spread costs.

You can measure how much a pair typically moves in each session using the Average True Range (ATR) indicator on an hourly chart.

Times to be careful

• Daily rollover. Around 5pm New York time, the trading day resets, overnight financing is applied and spreads often widen briefly.
• Major news releases. Central bank decisions, inflation figures and employment data can cause sharp moves and wide spreads.
• Sunday open. The first trading after the weekend can open with a price gap if news broke while the market was shut.
• Friday afternoon. Liquidity often thins as New York trading winds down before the weekly close.
• Public holidays. Holidays in major centres, especially around Christmas and New Year, reduce liquidity even when the market is technically open.

Can you trade forex on weekends?

The spot forex market is closed from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time. Some brokers quote weekend prices on certain products, but these are not the regular interbank market and spreads can be wide. Crypto markets, by contrast, trade every day. For the basics of how forex trading works across the week, read forex trading for beginners.

Trading forex involves substantial risk of loss. Session times on this page are approximate and your broker's hours may differ. This guide is for education only and is not financial advice. Please read our risk disclaimer.