The Best Times For Forex Trading

There is an advantage to trading in forex markets. They stay open 24 hours a day until the weekend. Then it starts all over again on Sunday. Also, there are various currencies that investors can choose from.Having a lot of foreign currency to choose from can help traders make good decisions about forex trading. They can hit or miss, but there will be times when they will make good profits by taking a risk. The three big markets for foreign trading are the countries of the United States, London and Asia. Since all three are in different time zones, of course, the investors will trade at different times. In London, forex trading is the most active between the hours of 8:00 GMT to 22:00 GMT. The busier times are between 13:00 GMT to 16:00 GMT. During this time, there is an overlap from the London time to the United States time. Traders are very busy conducting trades during this time. Also, this is the time to conduct day trading if the trader wishes to do so. There are sessions for forex trading in each of these three areas. The currencies that London uses are EUR, GBP and USD. These are the currencies that are the most active during the operating hours for forex trading in London.The currencies that the United States uses are AUD, EUR, GBP, JPY and USD. These are the most active currencies used during the operating hours in the United States, which is usually between 13:00 GMT and 22:00 GMT. The session in the United States slows down around 22:00 GMT. With the Asian session, the atmosphere is different. For the most part, the session is pretty quiet. The pairs move rather slow and day trading is really not an option here. However, there is some hope with the JPY currency, which is the only authentic currency that has some activity. Even then, it can still be slow unless something significant changes financially.As you can tell from this article, the best times to trade in the forex markets are in the London and United States overlap session. It doesn't matter how the formula is done. Traders can get a better response during those times. Since there are so many currency transactions, it's a bet that there will be plenty of traders looking to make a profit from foreign trades. A trader knows that they need to trade within those hours if they are looking to score financially from foreign markets. Amin Sadaks is the leader in Forex education. Learn more about his forex trading tips on his website. You can also read some of his Forex Strategy articles.

Forex Trading Tutorial

Trading HoursThe forex trading desk is open 24 hours daily from 17:00 ET Sunday through 16:30 ET on Friday.Currency Pairs24-hour trading is currently available in the following 14 currency pairs: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, AUD/USD, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/CHF, GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, CHF/JPY, EUR/AUD, GBP/CHF.Dealing SpreadForex Day Trading's normal dealing spreads are 3-5 pips for the major currency pairs.Fees topNo fees or commissions are charged to the customer, regardless of account balance or trading activity (See the "Commission-Free Trading" section of the disclosure page).

Daily Market Commentary

The euro moved lower vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar today as the single currency tested bids around the US$ 1.2905 level and was capped around the $1.3105 level. The common currency moved lower as demand for U.S. dollars continued to climb ahead of the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. Additionally, there are increasing views that the eurozone will suffer a deep recession and these are taking their tool on the euro. Data released in the eurozone today saw the German December ZEW economic sentiment index improve to -31.0 from -45.2 in November. The pair is also suffering from yesterday’s European Commission forecast of a 1.9% contraction in the eurozone economy this year. Standard & Poors yesterday downgraded Spain’s credit rating following last week’s downgrading of Greece’s sovereign ratings. Many traders believe the European Central Bank will need to continue reducing interest rates below their current 2.0% level. European Central Bank member Constancio today intimated rates will move lower, noting ECB President Trichet last week said “2% (inflation) isn’t necessarily the limit.” Constancio added “we have to be cautious regarding the risks of inflation getting too low." Euro bids are cited around the US$ 1.3055 level

Worldwide Forex Trading Hours

To see when markets overlap, let's have a look at the different forex trading times in each main financial center across the globe. (Times are displayed according to EST) So here are the times when two trading sessions overlap:
New York and London: from 8 am to 12 am (EST) Sydney and Tokyo: from 7 pm to 2 am London and Tokyo markets overlap one hour, from 3 am to 4 am.What does this mean? Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, or USD/CHF between 8 am and 12 am (EST) can lead to good results since markets for those currencies (European and American) are both active at the same time. This is when the largest volume of trades occurs, creating a greater chance of making significant profit in the forex market. Another good time to trade is from 1 am to 3 am EST. As you can see in the table above, at that time, European markets are waking up while Asian markets are closing, offering good trade opportunities. The same goes for the 7 pm to 10 pm EST time period, when the Asian and Australian markets overlap.Also, you have probably noticed that from 4 pm to 6 pm EST, there is no interesting overlap. That’s when the US markets close without overlapping any other large market. At those hours, the volume of trades is much lower, offering less great trade opportunities. You can thus see that while you can take advantage of a forex trading hours experience, some hours will allow for better opportunities than others.
*EST = UTC** - 5 hours **UTC= Coordinated Universal TimeWhile some hours of the day are busier than others, meaning that forex trading activity is greater at those hours, price fluctuation varies from day to day. As a general rule, some days of the week are busier than others. Whether in London, Tokyo, or the U.S., pip range movements for all 4 majors tend to be greater towards the middle of the week. Generally speaking, it is during Tuesday and Wednesday Forex Trading Sessions that we see the widest pip variation for all majors.

24hr Forex Trading – Forex Trading Hours

Open a forex account and enjoy a 24hr Forex Trading experience. Currencies are traded 24 hours a day, from Sunday afternoon EST* (Eastern Standard Time) to Friday afternoon EST. Through this 5+ day week of market activity, there is always at least one financial center open for business. Indeed, as some markets close for the night, others open somewhere else on the planet. Since forex trading hours overlap, currencies are being traded continuously. In other words, forex practically never stops.
Traders new to the world of foreign exchange tend to think that since the market is open 24 hours a day, they may trade whenever they choose during the day. Although this preconceived idea is actually true, it needs to be clarified. Indeed when it comes to forex trading hours, some hours present better opportunities than others. By better opportunities, we mean of course potentially greater profit. So what are the most suitable forex trading hours and why?
Usually, the best time to enter forex markets is when large volumes of currencies are traded. At those hours, traders can take full advantage of forex benefits. Since the forex market is traded 24 hours a day, the best time to enter is when several countries are trading at the same time. In each time zone across the world, forex markets operate from 8 am to 4 pm. So, to take advantage of heavy trading volume, the best is to look at when forex market hours in different countries overlap. Those hours are usually the time when the forex market is the most active and has thus the largest volume of trades and the biggest pip movements. It is when currencies are the most active that traders have a better chance of making some profit. Slow markets offer little chances of profit and therefore, forex traders usually stay out of them. When do forex trading times overlap?