Schedule of FX Trading Sessions

Unlike most financial markets that open around 8:00 A.M. and close around 6:00 P.M., the Forex market is open 24 hours a day,  five days a week. This is because it “moves” from country to country. With this 24 hour cycle, a trader can buy and sell currencies at any point in time since minimally one market in the world is always open.

We can divide the major Forex trading sessions into three major categories:

1. The Asian Session – this covers Wellington, Sydney, and Tokyo trading activity. Sydney opens at 10:00 P.M. and closes at 7:00 A.M. GMT. Tokyo opens at midnight and closes at 9:00 A.M. GMT. 
2. The European/London Session – trading volume is highest during this session, constituting over 37% of all trading activity throughout the world. London opens at 8:00 A.M. GMT and closes at 5:00 P.M. GMT.
3. U.S./New York Session – this is the final session of the day, and it overlaps with the European/London Session. New York opens at 1:00 P.M. GMT and closes at 10:00 P.M. GMT.

The overlapping of the trading sessions is as follows:

• New York and London: between 1:00 P.M. — 5:00 P.M. GMT
• Sydney and Tokyo: between 1:00 — 7:00 A.M. GMT
• London and Tokyo: between 8:00 A.M. — 10:00 A.M GMT

The most important thing to remember is that the volume of trading is not equal throughout the entire day. Different sessions can be more or less volatile.