The Ideal Trading Time

for Major Forex

Currency Pairs

According to most professional traders, there are three time windows that are most ideal for trading the Forex market.  These times correspond with the times that the different financial markets are opening and overlapping.  Here are the general times listed:

1. Asian Session, which corresponds with the city of Tokyo, Japan: 19:00 PM – 04:00 AM & 00:00 AM – 09:00 AM.  (Sydney, Australia also corresponds with these times, another of the major financial centers of the world.)
2. European Session, which corresponds with the city of London, England: 02:00 AM – 12:00 PM& 07:00 AM – 17:00 PM.
3. North American Session, which corresponds with the city of New York, New York, United States: 08:00 AM – 16:00 PM & 13:00 PM – 21:00 PM.

Because there are these three major financial markets opening each day at different times, the level of financial activity rises and falls based on the volumes traded during the openings and closings of each center (the openings and closings are the two most active trading times in each market).  Because there is so much activity at any given time throughout the world, the Foreign Exchange Market is known as a 24 hour market and trades may be executed at any time beginning at 5pm EST (New York Time) on Sunday Evening, and going through to 5pm EST Friday Evening for the end of the trading week.

It is important to note these times as a day trader because these hours will help give insight into the busiest and most active times when the greatest volume of trading is being carried out.  These times, and their increased volumes, will create greater liquidity in the corresponding major pair that is being traded.  Knowing this you can anticipate when the typical best times of the day will be for the type of major pair that you are trading.

It is always recommended to bear these market overlaps in mind.  You will notice, as you are trading actively, that there are certain times of the day where each currency pair is more active (more volatile) and the price-action jumps about more.  This is due to the increased amount of trading going on during these market overlaps and should be planned into your trading schedule for best results.