Trading Session Timetable Currency Trading Hours

The Forex market is open 24/5. As another trading day starts in different regions of the world, trading sessions come and go. Any trader, whether a beginner or an experienced one, needs to know when trading sessions start and when they finish. Knowing the schedule, traders can plan their time in a smart way and use it for better results. Four trading sessions go one after another during the day and the currencies change their behavior during each of them.

For instance, the Japanese Yen and the Australian Dollar are most traded currencies during the Asian trading session, while the European session shows higher volumes in trades involving the Euro. The American session is known as the most active and aggressive one, but the most interesting at the same time. As trading sessions overlap each other, it is pretty easy to choose the "right" time to trade.

All global markets are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition, the currency market doesn't work on Christmas and New Year’s Day, as well as on other holidays. Detailed information on the holidays can be found in our Calendar. At all other times of the year, from Monday to Friday, the Forex market operates as usual, quotes are updated, and traders trade.

When talking about trading hours on the Forex market, it is common practice to use the UTC time zone – the Universal Time Coordinated. The server time in RoboMarkets terminals differs from the UTC by 2 hours (UTC+2). When several countries switch to daylight saving time (DST) in spring, the difference gets bigger (UTC+3).

Schedule of forex trading hours.. The time zone is UTC+1 (Central European Time, CET):

RegionCityOpenClose
AsiaTokyo01:0007:00
Hong Kong02:3009:00
Singapore02:3008:00
EuropeFrankfurt09:0017:30
London09:0017:30
AmericaNew York15:3022:00
Chicago15:3022:00
Pacific Wellington00:0007:00
Sydney02:0008:00

Each session on the Forex market is characterized by its own features and factors.

Asian Trading Session

During this period of time, trading operations involving the Japanese Yen and the Australian Dollar have the biggest volume. The most popular instruments are USDJPY, EURJPY, AUDUSD and NZDUSD. As a rule, volatility increases as start of the European session approaches, but later it dies down.

European Trading Session

As a rule, this timespan is characterized by heavy price action at the beginning and after the lunch time, when European traders get back to their workplaces. The session is Frankfurt starts at 08:00 CET, while trading operation in London begin at 09:00 CET. Due to the difference between time zones, it is clearly seen when the Asian session finishes and the European one starts. The European market has high amount of finance and very often we can see heavy price action during the European session.

American Trading Session

The start of this session occurs when European traders finish their working day, and this doubles the effect: on the market there are both European traders, who are finishing their working day, and American traders, who have just come to their PCs with renewed vigor and new trading ideas. That's why the American session is known as the most active and aggressive one.

Pacific Trading Session

This session starts in Wellington at 6:00 PM UTC. At 8:00 PM UTC, Sydney joins the session. The Pacific session is the only one that overlaps all other sessions. It is characterized by moderate volatility provided no significant political and economic events are happening during this time.