Markets
Forex Market Hours and Session Clock
See which forex sessions are open right now in your own time zone: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York, with overlaps and daylight-saving handled.
| Session | Local hours | Time zone |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 07:00 to 16:00 | Australia/Sydney |
| Tokyo | 09:00 to 18:00 | Asia/Tokyo |
| London | 08:00 to 17:00 | Europe/London |
| New York | 08:00 to 17:00 | America/New_York |
How the forex trading day works
Spot currencies trade over the counter, so there is no single exchange opening bell. Liquidity follows the business day around the world: it starts in Wellington and Sydney, moves through Tokyo and Singapore, peaks during London hours and carries on into New York. The week opens on Sunday at 17:00 New York time and closes on Friday at 17:00 New York time.
The table above uses the conventional local hours for each centre and converts them with your device's time zone. Because each centre applies its own daylight-saving rules, or none, the gap between sessions shifts by an hour at several points in the year. Calculating from local time avoids the usual error of fixed UTC tables.
The London and New York overlap
The hours when London and New York are both open usually carry the most volume for majors and dollar pairs. Spreads tend to be tightest and major US data releases land inside this window. The Asian session is often quieter for EUR and GBP pairs but active for JPY, AUD and NZD.
Why session timing matters for a strategy
- Spreads widen around the daily rollover at 17:00 New York, when many brokers also apply swap.
- Backtests that ignore session-dependent spreads can overstate results for short-term strategies.
- Weekend gaps can open well beyond a stop. Positions held over the weekend carry that risk.
Exact trading hours differ by broker and instrument, especially for metals, indices and crypto CFDs. Check the specification window in your platform before relying on a particular hour.
Questions
What time does the forex market open on Sunday?
17:00 New York time. That is 21:00 or 22:00 UTC depending on US daylight saving.
What is the best time to trade forex?
Liquidity is usually highest when London and New York overlap, but the right hours depend on the pairs and the strategy. Volatility and spreads both change by session.