2022.07.29
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Forex Market Hours and Trading Sessions
Forex is a decentralized market, which operates through various financial centers of the world. Since these financial centers are located in different time zones, for all account types the Forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week from 00:00:00 (GMT+3) Mondays till 23:59:59 (GMT+3) Fridays. Every day from 23:59:00 (GMT+3) till 00:01:00 (GMT+3) the market is closed. Friday is the last day of the currency market operation, because large market participants, including various financial institutions, large funds, companies, and banks, are closed for the weekend.
Trading Hours
Since Justforex offers trading not only FX currencies pairs, but also indices, shares, metals, energies, and futures, trading hours of a single trading instrument may differ. Please see the schedule of market hours for various trading instruments:
FX Currency Pairs
| Name | Monday (GMT+3) | Tuesday (GMT+3) | Wednesday (GMT+3) | Thursday (GMT+3) | Friday (GMT+3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All FX pairs | 00:01-23:59 | ||||
Metals
| Name | Monday (GMT+3) | Tuesday (GMT+3) | Wednesday (GMT+3) | Thursday (GMT+3) | Friday (GMT+3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAGEUR | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XAUAUD | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XAUEUR | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XPDUSD | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XPTUSD | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XAGUSD | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| XAUUSD | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
Indices
| Name | Monday (GMT+3) | Tuesday (GMT+3) | Wednesday (GMT+3) | Thursday (GMT+3) | Friday (GMT+3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU200 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| DE40 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| ES35 | 09:00-20:59 | ||||
| EU50 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| FR40 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| HK50 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| JP225 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| UK100 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| US100 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| US30 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
| US500 | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
Energies
| Name | Monday (GMT+3) | Tuesday (GMT+3) | Wednesday (GMT+3) | Thursday (GMT+3) | Friday (GMT+3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRENT | 03:00-24:00 | ||||
| WTI | 01:00-23:59 | ||||
Shares
Cryptocurrency
| Name | Monday (GMT+3) | Tuesday (GMT+3) | Wednesday (GMT+3) | Thursday (GMT+3) | Friday (GMT+3) | Saturday (GMT+3) | Sunday (GMT+3) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTCUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:05-23:59 | 00:20-23:59 |
| BCHUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:05-23:59 | 00:20-23:59 |
| ETHUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:05-23:59 | 00:20-23:59 |
| LTCUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:05-23:59 | 00:20-23:59 |
| XRPUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:05-23:59 | 00:20-23:59 |
| ADAUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | ||
| DOGUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | ||
| DOTUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | ||
| EOSUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | ||
| LNKUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | ||
| XLMUSD | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 | 00:00-23:59 |
Every second Saturday there is a trading break from 00:00 (GMT+3) to 01:00 (GMT+3) for the next instruments:
BTCUSD, BCHUSD, ETHUSD, LTCUSD, XRPUSD on all account types.
Justforex is constantly improving its services and expanding the range of trading instruments, so only the main tools are indicated above, and the list may be not full. If you haven't found the necessary instrument in the table above, you may always check its working time in the MT4/MT5 trading terminal → Specification of the needed trading instrument.
Also, please note that the working hours of a trading instrument may change due to holidays or other reasons. We publish all the changes in the trading schedule in Our news section.
Trading Sessions
The foreign exchange market has specific working hours. There are several Forex trading sessions with different schedules. During each session, there is a certain currency that experiences high volatility.
| Session | City | Open (EET*) | Close (EET*) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | Sydney | 0:00 | 9:00 |
| Asian | Tokyo | 2:00-3:00 | 11:00-12:00 |
| European | London | 10:00 | 19:00 |
| American | New York | 15:00-16:00 | 0:00-1:00 |
* Eastern European time: GMT+2 winter; GMT+3 summer
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Pacific trading session
Forex starts its working hours when the Pacific session opens on Monday local time. This session is characterized by rather low volatility, and, as a matter of fact, this is the most peaceful time in the market.
-
Asian trading session
TThe Asian session follows the Pacific session. Currency pairs that include USD, EUR, JPY, and AUD are traded actively during these hours. The high trading volume of AUD takes place due to the intersection of the working time of this session with the Pacific one.
-
European trading session
The opening of the European session starts in financial centers such as Frankfurt, Zürich, and Paris. Trading gets even more active when it comes to London. The activity fades away during lunchtime but then resumes by evening. Fairly strong volatility may be noticed during the European session because the European zone has a large money turnover.
-
American trading session
The most active time in the foreign exchange market is the beginning of the American session because it reaches the opening hours in New York and the renewal of trading in Europe. Fundamental news of high importance is released at the beginning of the American session. It is characterized by high activity especially on Friday before the trading is closed.
How to Use This Info in Practice?
To make use of knowing the Forex trading hours, mind the following tips:
- The highest trading activity is observed during the European and American sessions, so this is the best time to trade. In those hours, most transactions are carried out, and trading spreads are the lowest.
- You may also notice that some trading sessions overlap, so during these hours, volatility is usually the highest.
- In the Asian session, the Japanese yen is traded the most actively.
- The activity in the European session is the highest during two periods: 10:00-14:00 and 15:00-19:00.
- Be careful during the "thin" market – a transitional time between sessions when there is not enough liquidity to maintain a stable price chart, i.e. strong impulses are possible.
- During the New Year rally, large banks and exchanges are closed for holidays; companies withdraw funds for summing up the results and reporting. This is a long "thin" market when you need to be extremely careful.
- The gap often follows the market opening after the weekend, so we recommend you protect your funds by placing Stop Loss and Take Profit orders or even close all positions on Friday.
Trading Schedule Changes
Trading schedules may change due to holidays such as Christmas, US Independence Day, Labour Day, etc. During some holidays, when markets are closed, trading is not carried out at all. In other cases, market hours may be shifted.
Justforex always publishes the updated trading schedule if the market hours change. You can find the updates in the News section. Please follow our news to be aware of any schedule shifts. We recommend you take trading schedule changes into account as you may need to revise your trading plan if, for example, low liquidity is expected in the market.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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When is the Forex market open?
The Forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week from 00:00:00 (GMT+3) Monday to 23:59:59 (GMT+3) Friday.
-
Why is Forex closed on weekends?
Friday is the last day of the currency market operation, because large market participants, including various financial institutions, large funds, companies, and banks, are closing for the weekend.
-
What are Forex trading sessions?There are four main Forex trading sessions:
- Pacific trading session – 00:00-09:00 (EET);
- Asian trading session – 02:00-12:00 (EET);
- European trading session – 10:00-19:00 (EET);
- American trading session – 15:00-01:00 (EET).
-
What is EET?
EET means Eastern European Time: GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer.
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What is the best time of the day to trade Forex?
The highest trading activity takes place during the European and American sessions, so these hours are considered the best time to trade. During this period, most transactions are carried out, and trading spreads are the lowest.