A Guide to Forex Trading Times
To become a successful Forex trader, one has to carefully study all the basic aspects of the foreign exchange market. Among them are the various Forex trading periods and what hours to trade. In this article, we will examine the different Forex trading sessions.
The forex trading times:
The international currency market is not dominated by single market exchange, but instead, entails a global network of exchanges and brokers throughout the globe. Forex trading hours are based on when trading is open in every cooperating country.
The 4 major forex trading sessions are as follows:
London, New York, Sydney, Tokyo
Minor sessions are:
Wellington / Auckland
Frankfurt
Hong Kong
Singapore
Definite times are more active and it’s important to keep track of these. In the next parts , we will test these various sessions and the finest times at which to trade them in more detail.
The Asian / Tokyo trading session:
When liquidity is fixed to the forex market after the weekend, the Asian markets are clearly the first to notice action. Forex market trading hours start there. Activity from this part of the globe is represented by the Tokyo capital markets, which are live between 00:00 & 06:00 GMT.
There are a lot of other countries with the considerable pull that are present in this period, including Australia, China, New Zealand, and Russia, which influences the finest forex trading times in places like NZ.
Asian hours are considered to run between 23:00 & 08:00 GMT.
The European / London trading session:
Official business times in London run between 07:30 & 15:30 GMT. This trading time is expanded owing to other capital markets’ presence involving France & Germany before the official open in the UK, whilst the end of the trading session is pushed back as volatility holds till London closes. Therefore, the European forex trading hours GMT are commonly noticed as running between 07:00 & 16:00 GMT.
The North American / New York (NY) trading session :
When the North American session comes online, the Asian markets have already been closed for many hours, but the day is only halfway through for European forex traders. The Western session is affected by activity in the US, with a few contributions from Canada, Mexico, and other countries in South America.
The North American hours start at 12:00 GMT. With a basic gap between the close of the US markets, and the Asian forex market opening hours, an interval in liquidity is fixed at the close of the New York exchange trading at 20:00 GMT, because the North American session closes.
Trading session holidays
There are 2 periods of the year in which the Forex markets are closed. Forex trading times on Christmas & the New Year are hard. The Forex markets are closed for most of the brokers on these days:
Saturday, 25 Dec2021
Friday, 31 Dec 2021. Open till 18:00 GMT (server time)
Saturday, 1 Jan 2022
Risky market hours for trading
During low liquidity, when a market opens around 12 AM, there is a significant risk when trading. Low liquidity brings higher volatility that is not usual during the normal hours. Pro traders do not suggest opening positions anywhere between 12-2 AM. Most of these high-risk times put a trader’s account at risk.
Risk factors include:
Volatility spikes: Low liquidity causes volatility spikes that easily hit your stop loss.
Low liquidity: This is related to the fx market’s depth, and it impacts the ability to handle large transactions effectively.
Dealing spread: Spreads widen around 12 AM time.
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