Forex Market Hours

Forex Market Hours

The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, and it is closed over the weekend. 

There are four major sessions that represent the financial hubs around the world. These are New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney.

The market opens on Monday morning in Sydney, this is 5:00 p.m. ET on Sunday evening. It closes at 5:00 p.m. on Friday ET, as this coincides with the close of the New York session.

Although the forex market opens 24 hours a day, there are certain periods where the market is more active and liquid. And it is important for traders to consider this.

Some of these times are known as overlaps.

Overlaps are when two trading sessions are open at the same time.

Trading volume increases during these overlaps since there are more people trading. 

• The New York/London overlap happens between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. ET. You could see big movements during this time.
• Sydney/Tokyo: This overlap occurs between 7:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. ET. It is not as busy as the US/London overlap,  but it is the second busiest overlap of the three. 
• The London/Tokyo overlap lasts for just one hour from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. ET. There isn’t usually much movement during this overlap since the Americans are fast asleep and their market is closed. 

As a trader, you should be aware of the overlaps as they can indicate the best times to enter or close positions.