What is meant by Forex market hours?



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Trading firms include financial institutions such as hedge fund managers, major central banks, corporations and investment managers. Then you have your average Joe Traders - known as private clients.

In order for the forex markets to be open almost constantly, the exchanges will open and close at different times of the day throughout the week. Therefore, it can be confusing to figure out when the best time to trade currencies is and which markets are open or most volatile in your specific time zone.

Global Forex Market Sessions

We'll keep things simple by using GMT as the standardized time zone in this guide, so you can add or subtract hours depending on where you live. As mentioned earlier, marketplaces always open and close at different times. With this in mind, below are the four largest market sessions worldwide. Crucially, each market overlaps by at least 1 hour, keeping the wheels in motion.

Tokyo / Asian Forex Market Hours

The start of the trading week is kicked off by the Asian markets, often referred to as the "Tokyo sessions". The capital markets in Tokyo start operating between 00:00 and 06:00. In particular, the start and end of the Asian markets usually extend beyond the Tokyo sessions.

This is usually open from 23:00 to 08:00. This is to accommodate the activities of dispersed markets in Russia, New Zealand, China and Australia, which are also active at this time.

Some of the major pairs that are usually traded in exness fx asia during the Asian sessions are AUD / USD, USD / JPY and NZD / USD. So if you are trading a currency pair that includes JPY and the like, you will notice much larger volumes during these hours.

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London / European Forex Market Opening Hours

Just before the end of the Asian markets mentioned above, the Europeans come alive. While the official opening hours for London are from 07:30 to 15:30, the sessions extend beyond that and last from 07:00 to 16:00. This is to allow the presence of other exchanges such as Germany, France and many more.

It is generally believed that the time of overlap between the London Forex market hours and New York is the best time to get an insight into the direction and volatility of the currencies for the trading day. For this reason, many forex traders choose to wait until the Tokyo and Sydney markets close and London opens.

New York / North American Forex Market Hours

A few hours after the Asian markets close and about halfway through the European sessions, the North American forex markets kick into action. Taking into account financial futures, economic data and commodities - these markets start confidentially at 12:00.

Therefore, there is a significant gap between the closing of the American markets and the reopening of the Asian markets. At 20:00, the New York Stock Exchange officially closes.

Sydney Forex Market Hours

At 21:00, shortly after the NYSE closes, the Sydney markets open and close again at 05:00. At this time, the Tokyo markets are in operation.

Sydney market hours are often considered the least volatile, and therefore are not ideal for short-term traders who wish to indulge in scalping and the like.

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