Forex market hours and sessions: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York

The forex market is open 24 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday evening (European time), because trading passes from one financial centre to the next as the world turns. It is usually described as four sessions: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. The busiest stretch for the major pairs is normally when London and New York are open at the same time, roughly 13:00 to 17:00 UK time.

Knowing the clock matters more than it first appears. Spreads, volatility and the chance of a sharp move all change through the day, and so does the cost of holding a position overnight. This guide sets out the sessions, the overlaps, the daily rollover and the daylight saving traps that catch people out twice a year.

Why forex never closes on weekdays

Shares trade on exchanges that open and close at fixed times. Currencies are traded over the counter between banks and dealers in many countries, so trading simply follows business hours around the globe. As dealers in Asia finish their day, European desks start theirs; as Europe winds down, North America is in full swing; and as New York closes, Asia-Pacific is starting again.

There is no official bell. Sessions are conventions based on when the main centres are busy, which is why different websites quote slightly different hours. What does exist is a broadly agreed start and end to the trading week and a daily cut-off, both set in New York time.

The trading week

• Opens: around 5pm New York time on Sunday, when the Sydney and Wellington markets are starting their Monday morning.
• Closes: around 5pm New York time on Friday, at the end of the US afternoon.

For a trader in the UK, that is about 22:00 on Sunday to 22:00 on Friday for most of the year. In Cyprus, Greece and other countries on Eastern European Time, add two hours; in Central European countries such as Germany, add one. Your broker's platform may show slightly different times, because each broker sets its own trading hours per instrument and its server clock may be on a different time zone from yours. Always check the contract specifications on your broker's website.

The four sessions

The hours below are approximate, given in UK time, and assume the UK and US are both on winter time (more on daylight saving below). Bear in mind that liquidity rises and fades gradually rather than switching on and off.

• Sydney: about 22:00 to 07:00. The week starts here. Activity is lighter than later sessions; AUD and NZD pairs are the most active.
• Tokyo: about 00:00 to 09:00. Japanese and other Asian banks are active; the yen, and the Australian and New Zealand dollars, see the most interest. Major Asian data releases fall in this window.
• London: about 08:00 to 17:00. The largest single forex trading centre. Volume jumps as European desks open, and the euro, pound and Swiss franc pairs become very active. Many larger moves of the day begin here.
• New York: about 13:00 to 22:00. US data and Federal Reserve news hit the market during this session. Activity is heaviest in the morning, New York time, while London is still open, and fades through the US afternoon.

The Tokyo session is sometimes called the Asian session, as it also covers centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Some traders treat Sydney and Tokyo as one combined Asia-Pacific session.

The overlaps that matter

Liquidity and activity are generally highest when two major centres are open at the same time.

London and New York (about 13:00 to 17:00 UK time)

This is usually the most liquid window of the day for the major pairs. European and US participants are both active, US economic data is released at the start of it, and spreads on EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/CHF are typically at their tightest. It is also when many of the day's biggest moves happen, which cuts both ways. Tighter spreads lower the cost of each trade, but faster markets also make slippage more likely around news.

The London afternoon also contains a well-known reference point: the WM/Reuters 4pm London fix, a benchmark rate used to value large portfolios. Large orders executed around the fix can cause short bursts of volatility, particularly at month-end.

Tokyo and London (about 08:00 to 09:00 UK time)

A brief overlap at the London open. Volume picks up quickly, and pairs such as EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY can be active.

Sydney and Tokyo (about 00:00 to 07:00 UK time)

The main window for AUD, NZD and JPY pairs. Liquidity in EUR/USD and GBP/USD is thinner than in the European day, so spreads on those may be wider.

Which pairs are active when

A practical way to think about it is that a pair is usually most active when the financial centres of both its currencies are open.

• EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, EUR/GBP: most active in the London session and the London–New York overlap.
• USD/CAD: most active in the New York session, especially around Canadian and US data.
• USD/JPY: active in Tokyo and again in New York; also moves around Japanese data and Bank of Japan meetings.
• AUD/USD, NZD/USD, AUD/NZD: active in the Asia-Pacific session, with another wave during US hours.
• Exotics such as USD/ZAR or EUR/PLN: generally most liquid in the local country's business hours, and can be very thin outside them.

If you can only trade at certain times, it makes sense to choose pairs that are active then. Our guide to currency pairs explains the categories in more detail.

The daily rollover at 5pm New York

Forex has an end of day even though it never closes: 5pm New York time, about 22:00 UK time for most of the year. At that moment brokers roll open positions over to the next value date and apply the overnight financing charge or credit, known as the swap. Our guide to swap and overnight financing explains how it is calculated and why Wednesday's charge is usually three times larger.

The rollover period also tends to be one of the least liquid times of the day. US desks have gone home, Asia has not really started, and some liquidity providers briefly pause or widen their quotes while their systems roll over. On many retail platforms you will see spreads widen noticeably for a few minutes either side of 5pm New York. Practical consequences:

• Stop-loss orders can trigger on a spread spike. A sell stop is triggered by the bid price, and if the spread widens sharply the bid can briefly touch a level the chart's mid-price never reached.
• Market orders placed at rollover can fill at poor prices.
• Some brokers restrict trading for a few minutes around the rollover.

If you do not need to trade at that time, it is usually better not to.

Daylight saving: the twice-yearly trap

Different regions move their clocks on different dates, so the gap between sessions changes for a few weeks each spring and autumn.

• United States: clocks go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November.
• UK and EU: clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March and back on the last Sunday in October.
• Australia (Sydney): clocks go forward on the first Sunday in October and back on the first Sunday in April. Remember Australia is in the southern hemisphere, so its summer time runs in the northern winter.
• Japan: does not use daylight saving.

The result is that the time difference between London and New York is normally five hours, but for about two to three weeks in March and about one week around the end of October and start of November, it is only four hours. During those weeks, everything set in New York time, including US data releases, the US stock market open and the 5pm rollover, happens an hour earlier in UK and European time than usual.

Worked example: a US jobs report in a mismatch week

Major US data, such as the monthly employment report and consumer price inflation, is usually released at 8:30am New York time. These timings are illustrative of the usual pattern:

• In a normal winter week (both on standard time), 8:30am New York is 13:30 UK time and 14:30 in Central Europe.
• In a normal summer week (both on summer time), 8:30am New York is still 13:30 UK time, because both have moved by an hour.
• In the March gap weeks, when the US has moved its clocks but Europe has not, 8:30am New York is 12:30 UK time.

A trader who habitually closes positions at 13:25 UK time ahead of US data would be an hour late in that week. The fix is simple: use an economic calendar that converts every event to your own time zone, and check your platform's server time on the Monday after any clock change.

As of early November 2026, both the US and Europe have returned to standard time, so the usual five-hour gap between London and New York applies until March.

Weekends and the Monday gap

From Friday's close to Sunday's open, retail platforms do not quote prices, but the world keeps producing news: elections, central bank comments, geopolitical events. When trading resumes, the first price can be some distance from Friday's close. This is called a weekend gap.

Gaps matter for open positions because a stop-loss order is not a guarantee of a particular price. If the market opens beyond your stop, the order is filled at the first available price, which can be much worse. Our guides to order types and where to put a stop-loss explain how stops behave when prices jump.

In the EU and UK, retail clients have negative balance protection, so a gap cannot leave you owing your broker more than your account balance. It can still produce a much larger loss than you planned, so many traders reduce or close positions before the weekend, particularly ahead of known events. Liquidity in the first hour of the Sydney Monday is also thin, with spreads often wide.

Holidays

Forex does not close for national holidays the way exchanges do, but holidays in a major centre reduce liquidity in that centre's currency. When US banks are closed, for example, dollar pairs are usually quieter and spreads can be wider. Christmas and New Year are the thinnest period of the year, and brokers often shorten trading hours or raise margin requirements around them. Check your broker's holiday schedule, which most publish in advance.

Is there a best time to trade?

There is a best time for liquidity, which for the major pairs is usually the London morning and the London–New York overlap. Whether that is the best time for you depends on your approach and your life.

• Short-term traders who pay the spread many times a day usually benefit from trading when spreads are tightest, which is during the main European and US hours.
• Swing traders who hold for days care less about the exact entry time and more about avoiding entries in thin markets or immediately before high-impact news.
• People with day jobs may only be able to trade in the evening or early morning. That can work, but it is worth choosing pairs that are reasonably active then and being realistic about the wider spreads.

More hours at the screen do not mean better results. Trading when tired, bored or during dead markets tends to produce some of the worst decisions. Our guide to trading psychology covers why.

Common mistakes with market hours

• Trading at rollover. Wide spreads and poor fills at 5pm New York catch out many short-term traders.
• Forgetting daylight saving. An hour's difference in a data release time can mean being in a trade when you meant to be flat.
• Confusing platform time with local time. Many brokers run their server clock on a time zone that makes the daily candle close at 5pm New York; that may be two or three hours ahead of the UK. Check before setting time-based rules.
• Holding through the weekend by default. Gap risk is real, and stops do not protect against it.
• Expecting the same behaviour every session. A breakout during the quiet Asian hours on EUR/USD is often less meaningful than one in the London morning.
• Over-trading because the market is always open. Being able to trade 24 hours is not a reason to.

Whatever hours you trade, the basic risk is the same: most retail CFD accounts lose money, and leverage magnifies losses. Our risk warning explains the main risks, and our leverage and margin guide shows how margin works.

Frequently asked questions

What time does the forex market open on Sunday?

Most brokers start quoting around 5pm New York time on Sunday, which is about 22:00 UK time for most of the year (occasionally 21:00 during the daylight saving mismatch weeks). The exact time varies by broker and instrument, so check your platform's trading hours.

What is the busiest forex session?

The London session is the largest by volume, and the overlap between London and New York, about 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, is typically the most active period for the major pairs.

Why do spreads widen at night?

Around 5pm New York time, US banks have finished their day and Asian markets are only just starting. Liquidity is at its lowest, and some liquidity providers widen or pause their prices while they roll positions over to the next day. Brokers pass this on to their clients as wider spreads.

Is forex open on bank holidays?

Usually yes, but liquidity in the affected currency is lower. Over Christmas and New Year many brokers shorten trading hours and some close on the key days. Check your broker's holiday schedule.

Can I trade forex at the weekend?

Not on standard currency pairs at most brokers, because the interbank market is closed. Some brokers offer weekend trading on other instruments, such as certain cryptocurrency CFDs where these are permitted, at their own prices.

What time is the daily candle close?

Most forex platforms aim to close the daily candle at 5pm New York time, so that each day contains five full trading sessions. If your platform's daily candles look different from other sources, the server time zone is usually the reason.