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Enter the wild and often unpredictable world of foreign exchange and the underlying dynamism of forex market trading hours. Thanks to a distinctive profile of demand structures and geographical realities, forex session times essentially feature 24-hour trading. If there is no restriction though, the general consensus is that the best time to trade is when the different trading sessions overlap. These times are when market participants from different financial centres of the world are active. There is sufficient volatility and different assets can be traded with high liquidity and low spreads. The best overlap is the London/New York active hours (1300hrs GMT – 1600hrs GMT). It is important to remember that forex trading hours can vary in March, April, October and November, as countries shift to and from daylight savings or summer times on different days.
How does forex trading work?
Forex trading is the trading of different currencies to make money on changes in currencies’ values relative to one another. Most of this trading occurs via electronic platforms or over the phone rather than on exchanges. Each trade involves a pair of currencies.
When the new week starts, the market is flooded by hungry traders, and this is where the magic happens. Finally, you need to know that there is no central exchange for forex trading. Instead, it is a decentralized market that exists all over the world. This means you can trade forex pairs 24 hours a day, from Sunday evening to Friday night. London also plays a significant role in currency fluctuations because Britain’s central bank, https://www.bigshotrading.info/ the Bank of England , sets interest rates and controls the monetary policy of the GBP. It is important for forex traders to stay on top of the BOE’s changes because it not only impacts the Sterling Pound , but other currency pairs too, like the EUR which is closely linked to the Pound. The biggest foreign exchange forex across the globe are New York, Tokyo, London, and Sydney, which results in the markets being open 24 hours a day.
Forex trading hours: the opening times of the forex market
While it is crucial to understand when is the best time to analyze the charts and make the bids, it is equally important to know when NOT to open positions. To check for future forex market hours and holidays, click on the date at the top left of the tool. Of course, certain times of day or week tend to see more activity and, therefore, may be better timed to trade. For instance, many forex traders believe that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are the best Best Time to Trade Forex days to trade because they see the most consistent movement during these days. On the other hand, Fridays are often quieter, as many people close their positions before the weekend. The most-traded forex pairs in the London session include GBP/USD and EUR/GBP. This is most apparent once the New York and London sessions overlap – and seeing as how the European session has almost identical opening times as London’s does, this is all the more pronounced.
However, under the context of forex market hours, the fun could just be getting started. This last point segues into another reason why currency exchange hours operate around the clock, almost every day — geographical realities. As soon as bankers and other bigwigs in New York clock out, the suits in Japan are clocking in.
How to use the Forex Market Time Converter
With different time zones and markets open overnight, knowing when to trade forex is complicated. Some forex pairs will be more heavily affected by an overlap than others.
The New York session has the biggest overlap with the London session, and so it is a good time to trade forex in the UK, especially the GBP/USD cross. Each of these forex sessions is typically given the same name as the money center city that has the business hours they correspond to.