The forex trading market runs 24 hours, starting from Sunday evening up to Friday night. There are many foreign exchange markets in the world, but the main ones are the New York, London, Sydney, and Tokyo markets.
Even though the market runs 24 hours, it is important to remember that different markets are located in different time zones. Forex time zones are divided based on the four main markets. The zones are called forex session times, and each has opening and closing times.
What are forex sessions?
All forex trading happens online, and trading is done through brokers. One forex session equals the total time a foreign exchange market in a given region is open on a specific day. It should match the daytime business hours for the specific region. Keeping in mind that each market is in a different time zone, each of them trades in a different session.
Forex sessions start from the time the opening bell rings to the time the closing bell rings. The most important thing to know is when does the forex market open and what time does the forex market close. When you buy a forex robot from ForexStore, you can program it to trade based on sessions. There are four forex sessions. To trade in each session, there are critical things that you need to understand.
- Market hours: Market hours mean the time retail traders are allowed to trade. Across the four time zones, the market hours start from Sunday 5 pm ET to Friday 5 pm ET weekly.
- Opening and closing hours for each forex session: The forex sessions open and close at different times. Know the opening time and what time the forex market closes. Sydney market, for instance, opens at 3 pm EST and closes at midnight EST.
- Currency pairs to trade: Certain currency pairs trade more in certain markets and sessions. It is necessary to take advantage when a certain pair is moving at a higher volume.
Main forex markets
There are four main forex markets in the world. Since each market trades in a specific session, this makes the market open 24 hours daily. That means you can trade any time of the day as long as you understand how the forex zones in the four markets work.
London
The London market is also called the European forex session. It opens at 7 am GMT and closes at 4 pm GMT. Most of the foreign exchange trading across all forex sessions occurs in the London market. Both beginner and experienced traders prefer this session. They benefit from high-volume trades, low spreads, and higher liquidity. The pairs that trade most in this session are the EUR-GBP and the GBP-USD.
New York
The New York forex session starts at noon GMT and up to 8 pm GMT. Of all the forex session times, it is the session with the most hours. It often overlaps with the London session, which makes it a good choice for forex trading. Most of the main currency pairs in the market trade in large volumes in this session. Traders can buy or sell pairs such as EUR-USD, USD-CHF, USD-JPY, and GBP-USD.
Tokyo
The Tokyo forex zone opens at 11 am GMT and closes at 8 pm GMT. It is often referred to as the Asian session. In terms of size, it is number three globally. It is highly liquid and volatile due to constant price fluctuations. Pairs that move in large volumes in the Tokyo session are mainly the EUR-JPY and the USD-JPY.
Sydney
The Sydney forex session times start at 10 pm GMT and close at 5 am GMT. It often overlaps with the Tokyo forex session. When it overlaps, volatility and liquidity increase in the forex time zones. The pairs that move large volumes in this market are the AUD-USD and the USD-JPY.
Summary
There are four major forex market sessions in the world. They open from Sunday 5 pm ET to Friday 5 pm ET. It is important to know when trading starts in each specific zone. Certain pairs move bigger volumes in specific sessions. Since each market trades in a specific session, this makes the market open 24 hours daily.