Forex market hours and trading sessions

Forex session overlaps

An overlap is the window when two sessions are open at the same time. Banks and dealers in both regions are at their desks, so more orders reach the market and spreads are usually tighter. A normal trading day has three overlaps.

London and New York overlap for about four hours, 12:00–16:00 UTC in July and 13:00–17:00 in January. It is the most liquid part of the day: the two largest forex centres are open together, and major US data such as the jobs report and consumer prices is released at 8:30 a.m. New York time, inside this window.

Tokyo and London overlap only briefly, 07:00–09:00 UTC in July and 08:00–09:00 in January, as Europe opens and Asia winds down. Sydney and Tokyo overlap for most of the Asian morning, 00:00–06:00 in July and 00:00–05:00 in January. The length changes during the year because Australia uses daylight saving time and Japan does not.

Lengths are for a normal weekday. In the weeks when the US and Europe change clocks on different dates, the London–New York overlap lasts five hours; see the daylight saving section below.

When is the forex market most active?

Activity follows the business day around the world. It is lowest in the hours after New York closes, picks up when Tokyo opens, and peaks while London and New York are both open. In the triennial survey of the Bank for International Settlements, trading desks in the United Kingdom account for more than a third of global forex turnover and those in the United States for about a fifth. That is why the London session and the London–New York overlap carry the largest share of daily volume.

Which currency pairs move most depends on whose markets are open. In the Asian session, pairs with the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar are usually more active. When Europe opens, the euro, the British pound and the Swiss franc take over, and EUR/USD and GBP/USD are typically busiest during the London–New York overlap. USD/CAD tends to be most active while North American markets are open.

Liquidity is usually thin in the first hours after the Sunday open and the last hours before the Friday close, and spreads can widen at those times. Prices can gap over the weekend when news breaks while the market is closed. On a public holiday in one region, that region’s session is quieter even though the global market stays open.

These are general patterns, not trading advice. On any given day, volatility is driven mostly by scheduled data releases, central bank decisions and unexpected news.

The four forex sessions

Session times are conventions based on the business hours of each financial centre, not rules set by an exchange, so different sources quote slightly different times. TickClock uses 7:00–16:00 in Sydney, 9:00–18:00 in Tokyo, and 8:00–17:00 in London and New York, each in local time with local daylight saving rules.

Each session uses its own city’s local time and daylight saving rules.

Sydney session

The Sydney session opens the trading week. It runs 7:00–16:00 Sydney time, which is 21:00–06:00 (+1) UTC in July and 20:00–05:00 (+1) in January. Australia changes its clocks in the opposite season to Europe and North America, so over the year the Sydney session moves two hours relative to London.

It is the quietest of the four sessions. The Reserve Bank of Australia announces its decisions during Sydney hours, and Australian and New Zealand economic data comes out early in the session. From October to early April the Monday Sydney open falls one or two hours before the Sunday 5:00 p.m. New York open, so the start of that session is not tradable.

Often active: AUD/USD, NZD/USD, AUD/JPY

Tokyo session

The Tokyo session runs 9:00–18:00 Tokyo time, which is 00:00–09:00 UTC all year, because Japan does not use daylight saving time. Singapore and Hong Kong, the other large Asian centres, are open in the same window, so this period is often called the Asian session.

Japanese exporters and importers, Japanese investors buying foreign assets and the Bank of Japan make the yen the main focus. Liquidity in pairs without the yen or the Australian dollar is lower than during the European day.

Often active: USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, AUD/JPY

London session

The London session runs 8:00–17:00 London time, which is 07:00–16:00 UTC in July and 08:00–17:00 in January. London is the largest forex trading centre in the world, and its session usually carries the biggest share of daily volume. The WM/Reuters 4:00 p.m. London fix, a benchmark used to value funds and portfolios, falls near the end of the session.

The first hour often brings a jump in activity as European traders react to news from the Asian session. Euro area, UK and Swiss data and the decisions of the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are released during London hours.

Often active: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP, USD/CHF

New York session

The New York session runs 8:00–17:00 New York time, which is 12:00–21:00 UTC in July and 13:00–22:00 in January. Its first half overlaps with London. Most US economic data is released at 8:30 a.m. or 10:00 a.m. New York time, and Federal Reserve rate decisions are announced at 2:00 p.m.

After London closes, liquidity falls through the New York afternoon. The trading day ends at 5:00 p.m. New York time, when brokers roll open positions over to the next value date.

Often active: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CAD

Daylight saving time and forex sessions

Three daylight saving schedules move the sessions during the year. The US switches on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. The UK and the EU switch on the last Sundays of March and October. Australia (New South Wales) switches the other way, starting on the first Sunday in October and ending on the first Sunday in April. Japan does not change its clocks.

Because the US and Europe switch on different dates, there are about three weeks in spring and one week in autumn when New York is only four hours behind London instead of five. In those weeks the London–New York overlap starts an hour earlier and lasts five hours. When Australia changes its clocks, the Sydney–Tokyo overlap changes by an hour.

The tables list every change in 2026 and 2027, with the London–New York and Sydney–Tokyo overlaps in UTC for each period. Dates are calculated from the official daylight saving rules.

Changes in 2026

Changes in 2027

Weekly open, close and holidays

The forex week opens at 5:00 p.m. New York time on Sunday, which is Sun 21:00 UTC in July and Sun 22:00 in January, and closes at 5:00 p.m. New York time on Friday (Fri 21:00 in July, Fri 22:00 in January). Many brokers start quoting a few minutes after the open and stop accepting orders a few minutes before the close.

There is no central exchange, so there is no exchange holiday calendar. The market is effectively closed on December 25 and January 1, when almost all banks are shut, and TickClock treats these two days as closed. On other national holidays the global market stays open, but the session of the country on holiday is quieter.

Each broker publishes its own schedule for Christmas, New Year, Easter and US holidays, including early closes and changed hours for metals and CFDs. Always check your broker’s notice.

MT4 / MT5 server time converter

Most MetaTrader brokers set their server clock to New York time plus seven hours. Each daily candle then starts at 5:00 p.m. New York time, so a week has exactly five daily candles. The server is on GMT+3 while the US is on daylight saving time and GMT+2 the rest of the year.

Change either side to convert. Some brokers use GMT+0 or another fixed offset instead, so compare with the time shown in your platform’s Market Watch window.

Key times this week on the server clock

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