What You Need To Know About Forex Market Hours, Bonus tips and apps included.

The foreign exchange market is the world’s biggest and most liquid market, with an average daily trading volume of 4.5 trillion U.S. Dollars. Forex trading is conducted electronically and globally, and this market is open 24 hours, five days a week (from Sunday to Friday).

The Forex market consists of a network of financial institutions and retail trading brokers, each with its own hours of operation. 

Since most Forex traders are active between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. in their local time zone, we tend to use these times as the market open and market close, respectively. 

A 24-hour forex market offers many institutional and individual traders a considerable advantage because it guarantees minimum liquidity and the opportunity to trade at any time. However, although you can trade currency pairs at any time, an individual trader can only monitor a position for so long.

Since the Forex market is available globally, it is even accessible during weekends in different time zones, and there are various sessions that we will explain in great detail. So keep reading this article to learn about Forex market hours, learn about sessions, and trade in them.

Forex Market Hours Definition

Forex market hours refer to the specific period of time when traders and other parties are able to transact in the foreign exchange market. 

It is usually stated that the Forex market is available for trading 24 hours a day except for weekends. But based on where you live on earth, Forex market hours vary.

What time does the Forex Market Open?

Forex is a 24-hour market, five days a week. So no matter when you want to trade, it is open. But since most traders can’t watch the market 24/7, the market is separated into three peak activity sessions: 

– Asian 

– European

– North American 

These sessions are also referred to as the Tokyo, London, and New York times, respectively. 

The first trading session on the forex market starts at 5:00 p.m. (EST) and closes at 8:00 p.m., with the last trading session on the forex market ending at 3:00 a.m., which is 11:00 p.m (EST).

Is forex trading open 24 hours?

The Forex market is open 24 hours a day for five days a week. This means that you can trade at any time of the day or night.

Again, based on where you live, the hours of market activity may vary, so it’s always best to check major sessions before trading.

Is the Forex Market Open on Weekends? 

Forex markets are open on weekends in some countries.

Theoretically, Forex markets are open for trading every day of the week in all supported countries. 

As we mentioned above, the forex market hours are different in each country, but they can be 24 hours per day in some countries, while the others may have the same opening and closing times as stock markets do.

There are different trading days worldwide, but Forex trading is typically open on weekends in some countries, including Australia and Japan.

So depending on where you live, the answer to this question might be different for you. 

The Forex Market Hours Around the World

With the current globalization of the world, it is becoming more and more necessary to understand different time zones. This section will provide a detailed overview of Forex trading hours worldwide, focusing on different time zones. So if you keep google “Forex market hours today,” you’re in the right place. Just keep reading to figure it out.

To review, the forex market is an international market where traders buy and sell currency pairs. The forex market is open 24-hours a day, five days a week. To better manage the markets, traditionally, traders have split markets into three divided sessions, adopting time zones of different places around the world.

Here are these three sessions and their timeline:

Asian Forex Session (Tokyo Session)

Located in the east and experiencing the first sunrise, the Asian markets are naturally the first to see action and restore liquidity. Unofficially, the Tokyo capital markets represent activity from this part of the world and span from midnight to 6 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

However, many other notable countries are active during this session, including China, Australia, New Zealand, and even Russia. 

Considering how far apart these locations are, it makes sense that the beginning and end of the Asian session are stretched far beyond the standard Tokyo hours. The Asian session is often considered to run between 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. GMT.

European Forex Session (London Session)

The European session comes to life and keeps the Forex market active just before the Asian trading hours close. This Forex session is very popular and dense. 

London has taken the honours in defining the parameters for the European session to date. 

Official business hours in London are between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. GMT. Yet European trading session is also expanded due to other capital markets’ presence (including Germany and France) before the official opening in the United Kingdom. At the same time, the end of this session is stretched as volatility holds until after the close. Therefore, European hours typically start from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. GMT.

The Asian and European sessions overlap, sometimes creating more volatility due to increased trading activity during those hours. 

North American Forex Session (New York Session)

Several hours after the Asian markets have been closed, the North American session comes online, when the day is only halfway through for European session traders. 

The Western session is defined and dominated by activity in the United States, with some contributions from Canada, Mexico, and other countries in South America. As such, it is not surprising that activity in New York City marks the high volatility and participation for this session.

Considering the early activity in financial futures, commodity trading, and the concentration of economic releases, the New York session unofficially begins at 12 p.m. GMT. With a significant gap between the close of the U.S. markets and the opening of Asian trading. A suspension in liquidity sets the close of New York trading at 8 p.m. GMT as the North American session closes.

What Are the Best and Worst Times to Trade in Forex?

Forex trading is never easy to master; it can be very competitive and risky with lower profit margins than other investments. It’s not always easy to predict the best moment to buy or sell currency pairs.

The best time to trade in Forex is when there is a high demand for a particular currency pair. So the best time to trade is when the market is most active, typically during the London trading session. London session is when markets overlap and provide huge liquidity.

The worst time to trade is when the liquidity in markets is low. The worst time to trade is during holiday periods like Christmas because the big banks and hedge funds are closed, and then the market tends to become very slow and unpredictable. Also, during the hours that major markets are close, trading can be tricky.

Pro tip: Friday always has low or less volatility on currencies, and mostly 90% of traders don’t trade on Friday. That is the primary reason why Forex traders avoid trading on Friday! Because the markets close on Friday. Therefore, having trades open over the weekend can be very risky, as when the markets open, they may be at a low or high.

Forex Market Time Converter

The Forex Market Time Zone Converter is a tool that displays which trading session(s) are open in your current local time. This is useful if you are going to trade for one of the other time zones, but you want to know what trading times are open in your local time zone so that you can plan to best capitalize on those markets, for example, make sure you’re not trading in the middle of the night.

Here’s a forex time zone converter that can come in handy:

https://forex.timezoneconverter.com

http://www.forexmarkethours.com/markethours.php

There are several Forex market hours clock apps and Forex market hours widgets that you can use. We will cover them at the very end of this article, so make sure to stick around.

What is the Forex Market Hours Indicator in MetaTrader?

Market Hours indicator is a custom made technical indicator that provides traders with necessary information about which market sessions are currently open based on the time and date. 

This information is displayed directly on the MT4 and MT5 platforms on their own customized indicator window. This indicator depicts lines on its window, which have different color’s. Each line color represents a different market session.

The Market Hours indicator has predetermined values that pertain to the hours in which the major markets would open and close. These markets are the London, New York, Sydney, and Tokyo markets.

The Market Hours indicator plots a line that would span the market open up to the market close. These values can also be modified whenever necessary.

So regardless of your desired session, you can use this indicator to make trades with the MetaTrader platform.

Useful Applications and Widgets For Forex Trading

Here are helpful and practical apps to have on your phone. 

Bloomberg Business Mobile App

Bloomberg news plays a significant role when it comes to Forex markets. Staying on top of its news is very much necessary for those who like to succeed in this market.

Bloomberg offers several mobile applications for iOS and Android devices, but access to some of these apps requires that the users purchase a subscriptions plan of Bloomberg services. 

However, even its basic business mobile application is more than enough for most Forex traders whose primary interest is real-time access to the latest market information and news.

Bloomberg Business app offers access to worldwide financial markets and business news, market price info, and some portfolio tracking tools. 

The app menu is highly customizable, and the app’s Watchlist option lets you track and analyze your current market positions in not just currencies but commodities, stocks, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with charts and information summaries as well. You can also watch Bloomberg TV live through a streaming video feed.

Forex Calendar, Market & News

This app which is available for Android and iOS, will keep you easily up to date with the Forex market news with the help of its various options. 

– Portfolio: the portfolio feature will show you your Myfxbook portfolio that includes a growth chart, quick statistics and the current status of your account (trades, orders and history). 

– Economic Calendar: By using this calendar feature, you can be in sync with the markets in real-time with a live economic calendar covering over 30 different currencies with easily readable data. Each event can be expanded for an explanation and historical data.

– Markets: you can view over 60 different currency pairs live, candle by candle (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CAD, USD/JPY, AUD/USD) with changes in nine different time frames in just one view. 

– Alerts: You can set alerts for specific prices or for specific patterns in prices in real-time as well and get notified as they happen. The alerts and notifications are unlimited.

– Forex News: the news tab shows you a streaming feed of economic and financial news items streaming live from major news channels – and you can even watch news of specific currencies (for example, EUR or USD).

– Community Outlook: a live outlook on different currency pairs as seen by the professionals on the Myfxbook website. Each currency pair includes the necessary data, such as the number of open positions, the total volume, and so much more.

– Calculators: Built-in calculators will help with planning your next trade. You can put in an entry price, position size, margin or risk value for better money management.

FXhours: Forex Trading, Charts, finance & news

Here’s a great Forex market hours clock app that exceeds expectations.

Most traders choose overlapping sessions when more than one market is open. These overlapping times can provide a great degree of liquidity and create the best chance for a successful trade.

FXhours application is built to simplify the forex trading hours. So, If you are looking for an application that helps you monitor the opening hours of the Forex market in your local time, show the overlapping hours, and stream real-time charts, then FXhours is the best option for you.

This application has many more features, including but not limited to: 

– Pip Value Calculator.

– Pivot Calculator.

– Forex Calendar with its alert powered by Forex Factory site.

– Real-time Currency prices.

– Alerts for open markets.

– Notifications for market Holidays.

– Real-time charts

– Central Bank Interest Rates.

– Forex Signals (powered by FXLeaders)

– Technical analysis ( powered by TradingView)

– Finance and Forex News.

– Forex Correlation.

– Currency converter.

There are many more applications and Forex market hours widgets that you can install on your desktop device or tablet to help you trade easier. Since there are many tools like this, we recommend you check each application’s score before installing it, as some apps may be fraudulent or act as unregulated brokers. App Store or Play Store usually bans unsafe applications, but sometimes that filter is not enough, and you have to do your research.

What can Arongroups do for you?

Aron Groups is a Forex Broker that can make scalp trading easier for you. You can deposit and withdraw easily and with no commission and wages, using Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, etc. You can also enjoy a 2% cashback by depositing USDT.

You can open up different accounts such as standard, VIP, Nano and Cash, and use the most up-to-date MT5 trading platform.

Aron Groups provides you with security and excellent customer service that any other broker cannot match.

To register with Aron Broker, Click Here, Or you can read about frequently asked questions here.

Forex Market Hours in a Nutshell

The Forex market is the world’s largest and most liquid market, with an average daily trading volume of 4.5 trillion U.S. Dollars. Forex market is open 24 hours, five days a week, from Sunday to Friday. A 24-hour Forex market offers many institutional and individual traders a considerable advantage because it guarantees minimum liquidity and the opportunity to trade at any time. 

To better manage the markets, traditionally, traders have split markets into three divided sessions, adopting time zones of different places around the world. The best time to trade is when the market is most active, typically during the London trading session. London session is when markets overlap and provide huge liquidity.

The worst time to trade is when the liquidity in markets is low. The worst time to trade is during holiday periods like Christmas because the big banks and hedge funds are closed, and then the market tends to become very slow and unpredictable. Also, during the hours that major markets are close, trading can be tricky.

There are a number of tools, applications and widgets that can help you with trading Forex easier and provide you with information about market hours and live news, yet you should always use these tools with the utmost discretion.