Best Time To Trade Currency

The Major Trading Sessions in the Forex Market

The FX market is active 24 hours a day - it is important for the active forex trader to identify the times where there is the most volatility and largest trading ranges.

TOKYO 7PM-4AM EST
Tokyo is one of the principle dealing centers in Asia and is the first major Asian market to open. USD/JPY, GBP/CHF and GBP/JPY have large ranges, and offer short term traders opportunity.

LONDON 2AM-12PM EST
London is the most important dealing center in the world and the majority of forex trading takes place during London hours. For traders looking for volatility GBP/JPY and GBP/CHF provide large daily ranges.

NEW YORK 8AM-5PM EST
New York is the second largest Forex marketplace. For active traders GBP/USD, USD/CHF, GBP/JPY and GBP/CHF are good choices, with large daily ranges.

US EUROPEAN OVERLAP 8AM-12PM EST = 5am – 9am PST
This period is the most active - the best period for day traders looking for volatility.

London Trading Session
London opens at 8 am GMT or 3 am EST. Closes at 4 pm GMT or 11am EST. The most active pairs during this session are EURUSD with 39% of the trading volume, GBPUSD with 23%, USDJPY with 17%, USDCHF with 6% and USDCAD with 5%.

European Session
Europe opens at 7am GMT or 2 am EST, Closes at 3 pm GMT or 10 am EST. The European session is the most volatile session most of the time.

New York Session
New York Opens at 1pm GMT or 8 am EST. Closes at 8pm GMT or 3pm EST.
New York is the second largest forex market place.The busiest time is 8 am to noon EST. News releases can result in a volatile market. Trading activity usually winds down after the U.S. afternoon trading period.

Asian Session
The Tokyo session opens at 1am GMT or 8 pm EST and closes at 8am GMT or 3am EST. Sometimes volatility is low and sometimes good moves occur. The USDJPY is the most active pair with 78% of the volume followed by EURUSD with 15% and EURJPY with 5%