Forex Session Times: When Each Currency Pair Moves (UTC Guide)

The forex market is open 24 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday evening, but it is not equally busy all day. A EUR/USD chart can move a handful of pips for hours during the Asian morning, then cover several times that distance in the first hour of London or after a US release.

If your stop and your size are the same at 02:00 UTC and at 13:30 UTC, one of them is wrong for one of those hours. This guide gives the session times in UTC, explains which pairs move when, and shows how to size a trade around the session you trade.

When the forex week opens and closes

Forex has no central exchange. Banks and brokers trade with each other around the world, so the market follows the sun. Most brokers open trading on Sunday at about 22:00 UTC (5 p.m. New York time) and close on Friday at about 22:00 UTC, one hour earlier for both while the US is on summer time. Check your broker's trading hours page: the exact open, close and any daily break differ between brokers.

The day is usually split into four sessions, named after the city that leads it.

The four sessions in UTC

The hours below are typical local trading hours (about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) converted to UTC. They are rounded: no bell rings at the open, activity builds up and fades out.

"Winter" and "summer" refer to northern hemisphere clocks. Sydney moves the other way (its summer time runs from October to April) and Japan does not change its clocks at all, which is why the Tokyo row stays the same.

Sydney and Tokyo: the Asian session

The week starts in Sydney. Moves in the first hours on Monday can include a weekend gap, when the Sunday open is far from the Friday close after weekend news. Later, Tokyo takes over. Yen pairs and the Australian and New Zealand dollars are the most active here. For EUR/USD and GBP/USD, the Asian hours are often quiet and build a narrow range.

London: the largest session

London is the largest forex trading center, and many banks set their positions for the day at its open. Volume rises sharply around 07:00 to 08:00 UTC, and the range built during the Asian hours is often tested in the first hours. Euro, pound and Swiss franc pairs are at their most active.

One fixed time worth knowing: the London 4 p.m. fix (16:00 London time), a benchmark rate that many funds and companies use. Short, sharp moves sometimes happen in the minutes around it.

New York and the overlap

When London and New York are both open (roughly 13:00 to 17:00 UTC in winter, 12:00 to 16:00 UTC in summer), the most participants trade at the same time. Most US data comes out early in this window. After London closes, activity usually fades into the evening, and by the Friday close liquidity is thin.

The releases that move each currency

Scheduled data and central bank decisions cause most of the largest intraday moves. Times below are local and do not change with the season; convert them to your own time zone.

• US: most data at 8:30 a.m. New York time (13:30 UTC in winter, 12:30 UTC in summer): nonfarm payrolls (usually the first Friday of the month), CPI, retail sales. Federal Reserve decisions at 2:00 p.m. New York time, eight times a year.
• Canada: employment and CPI at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the same minute as many US releases. A USD/CAD chart can react to both countries at once.
• Eurozone: ECB rate decisions at 14:15 Frankfurt time, followed by the press conference.
• UK: Bank of England decisions at 12:00 London time.
• Japan: the Bank of Japan has no fixed announcement time, which is one reason yen pairs can jump during the Asian morning.

Around these releases, spreads can widen for seconds to minutes and price can jump past levels without trading at them. An economic calendar set to your own time zone is part of the daily routine.

The daily rollover at 5 p.m. New York

At 17:00 New York time (22:00 UTC in winter, 21:00 UTC in summer), the trading day ends for most brokers. Positions held through it are charged or paid swap (the interest difference between the two currencies), and spreads often widen for a few minutes because few banks are quoting. A tight stop placed during this window can be hit by the spread alone.

Daylight saving shifts the hours twice a year

The US changes clocks on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November. The UK and the European Union change on the last Sunday of March and of October. Australia changes on the first Sunday of October and of April. For one to two weeks in spring and autumn, the gap between London and New York is one hour shorter than usual, and the overlap starts at a different UTC time.

Practical rule: keep a table of session times in your own time zone and update it after each clock change.

Measure the sessions on your own pair

Do not trust any article, this one included, for how many pips your pair moves in each session. Measure it on your broker's feed:

1. Open a 1 hour chart of the pair you trade and go back about 4 weeks.
2. For each day, write down the high minus the low of the Asian hours, of the London morning and of the overlap.
3. Average each session and note the largest single range.
4. Mark the days with a major release for either currency in the pair.

You now know the typical move your stop has to survive in each session.

Worked example: sizing by session

The numbers are round and chosen for easy math, not current prices. On EUR/USD with a US dollar account, one pip on a standard lot (100,000 units) is worth $10.

You have a $2,000 account and risk 1% per trade: $20.

• Asian range trade. Your measurement shows quiet Asian hours. The stop sits below the range low, 15 pips away. Size = 20 / (15 x 10) = 0.13 lots.
• Overlap breakout trade. Same pair, but the overlap moves much further, so the stop goes below the London morning low, 30 pips away. Size = 20 / (30 x 10) = 0.066 lots, rounded down to 0.06.

Both trades risk about $20. Using the Asian size with the overlap stop would risk $39, almost 2% of the account. The position size calculator does this for you, and the pip value calculator gives the pip value for pairs where the US dollar is not the second currency, such as USD/JPY or EUR/GBP.

5 session rules for forex

1. Trade the pair in its own hours. EUR/GBP during the Asian morning rarely does much; AUD/USD may.
2. Mark the Asian high and low before London opens. They are the first levels London tests. The support and resistance guide shows how to draw them as zones.
3. Check the calendar for both currencies. A USD/CAD trade needs the US and Canadian calendars.
4. Size from the stop, and the stop from the session. A wider stop in a busy session means a smaller position. The position sizing guide explains the formula.
5. Expect fake breaks at the open. The first move out of the Asian range is not always the real one. The breakout vs fakeout guide lists what to wait for.

Common mistakes

• Reading the Asian drift as a trend on euro or pound pairs, then watching it reverse at the London open.
• Holding a tight stop through payrolls or a rate decision. A stop sized for a quiet hour can be hit in the first second of a release.
• Forgetting the clock change. The release that came at 12:30 UTC in October comes at 13:30 UTC in November.
• Placing new orders at the 5 p.m. New York rollover, when spreads are at their widest.

FAQ

What is the best time to trade forex?

Many traders focus on the London session and the London and New York overlap, roughly 08:00 to 17:00 UTC in winter, because volume and movement are highest. The best time for you depends on your pair and your setup. Measure your pair's sessions first.

What time does the forex market open on Sunday?

At most brokers, around 22:00 UTC on Sunday in winter and 21:00 UTC in summer (5 p.m. New York time). Check your broker's hours page for the exact time.

Which session is the most volatile?

For most major pairs, the London session and the overlap with New York. Yen, Australian and New Zealand dollar pairs can also move strongly during the Asian session.

Why is the spread so wide at night?

Around the 5 p.m. New York rollover, few banks are quoting prices, so brokers widen the spread. It usually narrows again within minutes.

Do forex session times change with daylight saving?

Yes. The US, the UK and Europe, and Australia change their clocks on different dates, so the session times in UTC shift by one hour at different moments of the year. Japan does not change its clocks.

Check your forex levels

ChartEdge AI reads a chart screenshot and gives you the trend, the key support and resistance zones, and a plan with entry, stop and targets, so you can see how far the stop must sit before you size a forex trade. See the forex chart analysis page or try it with 3 free analyses, no card required. Educational only, not financial advice.