Question 1

When is the forex market open?

Accepted Answer

Spot FX trades continuously from the Sydney open on Sunday evening to the New York close on Friday — roughly 22:00 UTC Sunday through 22:00 UTC Friday. There is no central exchange to open or close, so the "market" is simply whichever financial centres currently have banks quoting. That is why activity rolls around the clock rather than starting and stopping.

Question 2

What are the four trading sessions?

Accepted Answer

Sydney opens the week, followed by Tokyo, then London, then New York, each corresponding to business hours in that financial centre. They are not equal in size: London is by far the largest by turnover, New York second. Sydney and Tokyo are quieter and tend to produce narrower ranges in the European and dollar majors, though they matter a great deal for AUD, NZD and JPY.

Question 3

When is the best time to trade?

Accepted Answer

For most pairs, the London and New York overlap — roughly 13:00 to 16:00 UTC — is the deepest and most active window of the day, with the tightest spreads and the largest ranges. That said, "best" depends on what you trade: yen and Aussie pairs see meaningful moves during the Asian session, and if your strategy needs quiet conditions, the overlap is the worst time to be in the market rather than the best.

Question 4

Do session times shift with daylight saving?

Accepted Answer

Yes, and this catches people out every year. London and New York both observe daylight saving but change on different dates, while Tokyo does not observe it at all. Because of that, the session hours expressed in UTC shift by an hour for parts of the year, and the London/New York overlap briefly lengthens or shortens during the weeks when only one of them has changed over.

Question 5

What is rollover and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Rollover is the daily settlement point, conventionally 21:00 or 22:00 UTC depending on the broker, when open positions are rolled to the next value date and swap is credited or debited. It is also the thinnest moment of the trading day: New York has wound down and Asia has not started, so spreads widen sharply and slippage rises. Holding through it is normal; sending market orders into it is expensive.

Question 6

Why does the market close at the weekend?

Accepted Answer

Because the banks and institutions that make the market are closed, so there is nobody quoting. Prices still respond to weekend news, but that only shows up when trading resumes — which is why the Sunday open can gap away from Friday’s close, leaving stop orders to fill at the first available price rather than the level you set.

Forex Market Hours

24-Hour Session Timeline

Session Overlaps

Timing Notes

Understanding Market Hours

Frequently asked