Trading sessions schedule
The forex market is global and is open 24 hours a day on weekdays:
- It opens at 0:00 CET (GMT + 2) on Monday
- It closes at 22:00 CET (GMT + 2) on Friday
- It's closed on Saturday and Sunday as most banks are shut and liquidity is low
There are four regional trading sessions:
- Asia – Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore
- Europe – Frankfurt and London
- America – New York and Chicago
- Pacific – Wellington and Sydney
Each session has unique characteristics; you need to understand these to get the most out of each market.
Asia
The most active currency pairs traded in this session are as follows:
- USDJPY - US dollars to Japanese Yen
- EURUSD - US dollars to Euros
- EURJPY - Euros to Japanese Yen
- AUDUSD - Australian dollars to US dollars
Europe
This is an active session, and there can be significant exchange rate fluctuations due to the trading volume of Euro-based financial instruments:
- Volatility increases when the London market opens
- Activity decreases during lunch
- Activity rises again during the afternoon
America
The most active forex trading begins when New York opens and European traders return from lunch. The American session has the following characteristics:
- Volatility is low since American and European banks have similar levels of influence
- Volatility can increase once European markets close – especially on Fridays
- Trading is aggressive
Pacific
Trading is quiet during the Pacific session.
When are the markets open?
All times are shown as CET (GMT + 2).
The schedule of trading sessions:
|
Region |
City |
Open |
Close |
|
ASIA |
Tokyo |
1:00 |
9:00 |
|
Hong Kong |
2:00 |
10:00 |
|
|
Singapore |
1:00 |
9:00 |
|
|
EUROPE |
Frankfurt |
7:00 |
15:00 |
|
London |
8:00 |
16:00 |
|
|
AMERICA |
New York |
14:00 |
22:00 |
|
Chicago |
15:00 |
23:00 |
|
|
PACIFIC |
Wellington |
21:00 |
5:00 |
|
Sydney |
21:00 |
5:00 |