Market hours, live
Forex trades around the clock on weekdays, but activity follows the business day in the big centres. The clock shows which sessions are open now, when the next one starts, and when they overlap, converted to your time zone.
How it works
- Each session is defined in its own city’s local time, so daylight-saving changes are applied automatically (the US, Europe and Australia change on different dates; Japan does not change).
- The market week runs from Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time.
- The London–New York overlap is usually the busiest and most liquid part of the day; the hours after New York closes are usually the quietest.
Questions
When is the forex market open?
From Sunday 17:00 New York time to Friday 17:00 New York time, continuously. Individual brokers may pause briefly around the daily rollover and close on some holidays.
What is the best time to trade?
There is no best time for everyone. Liquidity and spreads are usually best when the major centres overlap, but volatility is higher too. Thin hours (late New York, holidays) tend to have wider spreads.
Why do the session times shift during the year?
Because of daylight-saving time. For a few weeks in March/April and October/November the gap between New York and London is one hour shorter than usual.
Learn more
Not investment advice. This is general information and education, written without knowledge of your circumstances. It is not a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of losing money. Risk warning