Forex Market Hours

When does the forex market open and close? What about sessions and overlaps? I’ve got you covered. Use the tool below to ensure you’re always trading when volume is high.

When Is the Forex Market Open?

The forex market is the largest in the world, with trillions of dollars exchanging hands daily. It’s also the market that never sleeps, as currency exchanges must occur 24/7.

However, you and I can only trade it between Sunday and Friday evening. That’s when brokers are open for business.

The forex market opens on Sunday at 5 pm EST and closes on Friday at the same time. Unlike the stock market, you can trade currencies anytime between the week’s opening and closing times.

Although the forex market never technically closes, price movement on weekends is usually very slight, with minimal to no movement.

That said, there are times when a pair like EURUSD will close Friday’s session at one level and open on Sunday at a different level. It usually only occurs during a significant weekend event.

The change in weekend prices creates a gap in the chart. However, the gap only exists because your broker was closed over the weekend, not because there’s an actual price gap.

Forex Market Sessions

Because it’s a 24-hour market, there is always at least one active trading session. There are even times when these sessions overlap.

The easiest way to visualize how these forex market sessions operate is to imagine the Earth relative to the sun.

Wherever the sun is shining, the forex market is open. That’s a simplified perspective, but at least it gives a helpful visual.

The forex market hours chart below shows the four sessions in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Here is a breakdown of the chart above in Eastern Standard Time:

• New York is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm EST
• Tokyo is open from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am EST
• Sydney is open from 5:00 pm to 2:00 am EST
• London is open from 3:00 am to 12:00 noon EST

As you can see from the chart above, several forex market sessions overlap.

The most obvious, and the most heavily traded, is the London-New York overlap. This is when liquidity is at its highest, as many forex market participants prefer trading during this time.

What Are the Best Times to Trade Forex?

One of the most common questions among forex traders is: when is the best time to trade?

Like most things, it’s all relative to your trading style and lifestyle.

Obviously, if you’re located in a part of the world where the London / New York session overlap occurs at 3 AM, this may not be the most advantageous for your lifestyle.

The great thing about trading price action on the higher time frames is that forex market hours and market sessions don’t particularly matter.

For example, if you spot a bullish pin bar on the daily time frame, you would set your pending order and let the market decide what becomes of it.

It doesn’t particularly matter which session triggers the order.

See my lesson on the best time frame for trading forex for more information.

The Pros and Cons of a 24-Hour Market

Like most things, the forex market has both advantages and disadvantages due to its 24-hour nature.

Let’s take a look at a few pros and cons:

Pros:

• It offers the ability to trade at any time of the day, regardless of where you live
• There are very few gaps from day to day, unlike the stock market
• More liquidity even during slower sessions

Cons:

• The 24-hour nature of the forex market can lead to traders overthinking their positions
• The forex market requires more self-discipline to take breaks away from trading due to the market never closing

The fact that the forex market never sleeps means it’s easy to overtrade.

Instead of trading for a few hours each day, you may find yourself waking up early or staying up late to place trades.

That’s a bad idea!

Furthermore, many new traders struggle to take breaks from the market.

They feel the need to monitor their positions constantly.

This is one of the more destructive habits of new traders, enabled by the fact that the forex market is open 24/7.

The good news is that these disadvantages are easily cured by a well-structured forex trading course, discipline, and no small amount of practice.

Final Words

I hope this lesson has shed some light on the subject of forex market hours, as well as the various market sessions that comprise the 24-hour trading day.

Here are a few key points to keep in mind:

• The forex market is a 24-hour market that technically never closes
• Retail traders are those who trade for their personal account
• Retail trading hours in the forex market are between 5 pm EST on Sunday and 5 pm EST on Friday
• Four market sessions make up the forex market hours: London, New York, Sydney, and Tokyo

Frequently Asked Questions