When the Forex market is open 24 hours, it can be difficult to gauge the best times to trade, right? Is it near the end of a trading session? Will overlapping markets help or hinder your situation? First time forex traders often get caught up in the thrill of trading 24 hours a day five days a week—after all, logically, the more time you have to trade, the more opportunity there is to experience success.

And with COVID re-energizing the Forex market , and key data points signalling the strengthening of the U. dollar as well as other safe-haven currencies in the long run, there is more reason than ever to be excited.

But short-term emotional gauges should be avoided like the plague. Certain market sessions should be front and center on your economic calendar. Several markets overlap but which ones should you look out for? And with big news releases stirring the potential for instant changes in the currency market, how can you narrow down your watch list to focus on the most important ones? In this guide, we will outline exactly which sessions offer the most potential for profit, why market timing is important, and several key factors you should consider when planning your trading calendar.

The biggest foreign exchange forex across the globe are New York, Tokyo, London, and Sydney, which results in the markets being open 24 hours a day. The foreign exchange market is an OTC or over-the-counter market — it functions without a centralized exchange. Instead, the forex market exists through a global web of brokers, market makers, and banks.

Currency trading has a unique element to it because of the hours it operates. The week starts on Sunday at pm EST and closes on Friday at pm EST. Though, not all hours of the day are equal.

Some are demonstrably better than others. The first thing to point out is that the best time to trade is when the market is at its most active. When two or more markets are open at the same time, it creates a heightened trading atmosphere. This makes for a more volatile market, causing currency pairs to fluctuate significantly.

Volatile markets mean increased risk— and in this case, utilizing a top forex broker will make all the difference to your success. On the other hand, when just a single market is open, the currency pairs are more likely to only move by around 30 pips.

Naturally, the best trading opportunity could happen at any time. You may not always have access to a computer when this happens, which emphasizes the importance of a reliable forex trading app in your toolkit.

So, when are the best times to trade forex? During the daytime, there are several trading sessions. The first session to open is the Asia-Pacific market, this is followed by the U. market, and lastly, the North American market. Tip: Remember that forex trading hours can vary in March, April, October and November, as countries shift to and from daylight savings or summer times on different days. Yes, you can certainly trade forex at night in the country you are based in.

The market does tend to be less active at night though. However, the rise in activity is generally limited to pairs that cover the market locations that are crossing over. and European sessions are both coexisting during the hours of am and am EST. forex regulations. In the U. market, forex regulation is of utmost importance.

Every session starts when institutional investors start working, and this coincides with the publication of the most important economic metrics and news. For now, we are going to get into the four key forex markets, and when the optimal periods for trading are.

New York opens from am to pm EST and is the second biggest forex platform in the world. This market is looked at closely by foreign investors because the U. Currency fluctuations in the NYSE can have a direct, immediate, and remarkable impact on the dollar. When acquisitions are completed, or companies merge, the dollar can drop or rise in value in an instant. With this market, trading from am to noon EST is most favorable because it overlaps with the London exchanges. In most cases, USD crosses experience the most significant volume while the New York session is in play, and they account for a huge chunk of overall activity — USD crosses make up To take advantage of these fluctuations, consider the top forex brokers in the U.

increased liquidity is from am to noon EST. This typically offers the best trading opportunities. The following table lists several common currency pairs, as well as the average movement in pips per day over a month period.

The London Forex Market opens at am to noon: The U. Forex market dominates the worldwide financial currency market, and London is the key component to this. Interestingly, forex trends tend to originate in London, which is important for technical traders to bear in mind. Technical traders utilize analysis tools to identify opportunities using statistical trends, price movement, and momentum.

The leading forex brokers in the U. offer technical traders the tools needed to identify these opportunities and create an effective strategy — some better than others.

While there is no absolute best time trade forex in the U. During this time, the highest trading volume occurs, which creates an opportunistic setting for trading. We have outlined some common currency pairs and their average price movements in pips in a London session over a year, beginning November , down below. The Tokyo japan market opens from am to pm local time, and is the first Asian trading center to open, taking the biggest volume of trades, and leading just ahead of Singapore and Hong Kong.

One thing to note is that Japan is the third-largest trading center in the world. Below we have outlined some popular currency pairs for the average daily price movement in pips on the Tokyo market, for 12 months, from November to November This opens up Monday morning at am, local time in Sydney, and closes at pm, which is really when all the forex fun begins.

Though it is the smallest of the major markets, it accounts for plenty of the action when markets reopen on Sunday afternoon, because traders and financial institutions are beginning to regroup after the weekend break. To really take advantage of the Australian forex market, consider using one of the leading Australian forex brokers.

Choosing the right broker will depend on several factors including your trading style, your trading level, and your budget. Certain currency pairs are affected by crossovers more significantly than other pairs are. Generally speaking, and as we mentioned earlier, a currency is more liquid when one or more of the markets associated with it has an open session. Despite a pair being more liquid or popular, or even exotic, you ought to have an understanding of the financial data that will be published about it, and the sessions that are more likely to experience volatility.

Once you have this information, you can decide whether you want to trade during or outside of these volatile periods — both bring with them their own pros and cons. Of course, there are some times that are more full of opportunities. More specifically, there will be times when a certain currency pair or trading style is more advantageous than others.

The more experience you acquire, the easier it will be to narrow down the best trading window for you. To get started, you will need to find a leading forex broker, one that complements your trading needs and goals. Keep in mind, Forex trading comes with high stakes and even higher risk. The countries that host the exchanges that have overlapping sessions will have an effect on liquidity too. For example, the overlap between London and New York sees much more liquidity than the overlap between London and Tokyo does.

This is also true for the volatility that different markets experience. The overlap between London and New York sees the most volatility, on average. Most importantly, you should have a solid risk management forex trading strategy when trading in different forex markets.

As you may now have realized, the most opportune time to trade is when different markets overlap in their opening times. Why so? Market overlaps lead to larger price ranges. Higher price ranges mean more opportunity. When institutions go to work, you will find announcements from relevant press releases and monetary policy makers, usually being released in the morning.

This is also when institutional traders are at their most energetic, because it is the best time of the day to trade forex. The additional activity then contributes towards the heightened volatility levels. The currency relevance will need to be considered too. When the sun rises in London and the subsequent working day starts, the Bank of England releases financial news, and companies working in GBP will hedge orders so they can protect the Pound Sterling based on overseas purchases.

Individual traders in the U. are the most active during the day because of this, but they will play a relatively unimportant role on monetary changes. This is the case with other countries and currencies too. Volatility determines how strong price movements can be at certain times of the day, and it varies significantly in the forex market across a pair and at any time of the day. Traders must understand volatility because the vast majority of trading strategies are incompatible with periods of high volatility.

Market testing clearly shows that adjusting the trading strategy to suit your preferred volatility can make the difference between significant losses and big gains, even when all other conditions are equal. For example, an oscillator-based trading strategy that works best for volatile markets. Every time you create or review a strategy, determine what level of volatility it will work with and apply it accordingly. Why do volatility levels differ by the instrument by day, and why is the price moving?

The answer comes below to supply and demand. The market, Forex or whatever, is moving with a lot of pending orders. The more there is, and the higher its volume, the greater the market volatility. Big Institutions place the most massive orders in the most considerable quantities and on time. Thus, the hour Forex trading day is divided into three international trading sessions:.

Some times Asia pacific defines two different sessions called Sydney and Tokyo. But these two sessions mainly define as Asia pacific because these two sessions overlap most of the time. Marking the start of the Asia-Pacific trading session. For the next two hours, they are joined by Tokyo, where most of the Asian currency trading takes place, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore.

The forex market opens at the beginning of the Asia Pacific session on Sunday night Forex market closed on weekends , and as individual traders and institutions try to stabilize after related events that may have occurred over the weekend. This is the only time of the week that gaps occur regularly. This means that unless gaps are exactly what you want, weekend trading is not the best time to trade Forex.

The North American trading session begins at midnight GMT, beginning in New York and then Los Angeles. At night in Los Angeles, the markets will slow down, and the current trading day will end. As the world trade sessions gradually transform into each other, there is some overlap. Traders looking to improve profits should aim to trade during volatile levels that match your strategy. While monitoring the release of new economic data.

Running almost 24 hours a day in different time zones, many new traders hardly consider the impact of how these time differences can make impact on their investments.

The forex market can be very different than yesterday. If you understand the various risks plus the time-differences, you will be best positioned to make money when the market goes up, and even when it goes down.

As many new traders are joining the forex market from African countries including Nigeria and Kenya, this article will be helpful for them. Among them, three trading sessions are traditionally more important: Tokyo Asian , London European , and New York North American. Rather than focusing on trade in all sessions, expert traders often focus on one of these sessions.

Apart from the above listed major trading sessions, active traders also take account of the four other Minor trading sessions:. These trading sessions work like a domino effect: one closes, another opens. On the other hand, some forex markets overlap with each other or work simultaneously. For instance, London and Frankfurt are located in the same time zone, there is just a one-hour difference between their opening and closing times.

It would be much easier if we group different forex markets based on the continent. Note that, although Australia is technically considered a part of the Oceania continent, it is not so in the forex market.

Both Sydney and Wellington sessions can be considered part of the Asian trading session. Although the first sunrise is observed in New Zealand, the major trading activities begin in Tokyo Japan.

It begins at 7 PM and ends at 4 AM. With the opening, the Tokyo session takes the bulk of the Asian forex trading. Interestingly, these two centers are seeing more trading volume presently than Tokyo. While the Japanese forex market accounted for 4. European forex market activities begin just when the Asian trading session is about to close for the day. Although the European session coincides with many forex markets Frankfurt, Amsterdam, etc. It opens at 3AM and closes at 11AM.

London is often considered the financial capital of the world. Due to its location, the London trading session overlaps with Asian and North American sessions. And during these overlapping sessions, the market becomes more volatile and many currency pairs observe major movements.

Just when European traders are returning to their desks after lunch breaks, the New York session begins at 8AM. In terms of volume, it is second only to London. Besides New York, Toronto and Chicago are also important trading centers. As Kenya is located in East Africa, it observes Eastern African Times. You will see the highest volatility during these trading hours. Although you can trade during any session, burning the oil at night may not be possible for a majority of traders.

From the above table, you can see that except Tokyo the other three sessions are conveniently spread throughout the day.

So it can be worthwhile to trade during those overlapping sessions. The best time for trading in Kenya according to 4 Major Sessions:. If you could wake up during the overlapping sessions between Tokyo and London or London and New York, you can take advantage of the most liquid and volatile sessions.

What is the Best Time to Trade Forex in Kenya? Forex Trading Sessions for Kenyan traders Major Forex trading sessions can be divided into four: Sydney Session Tokyo Session London Session New York Session Among them, three trading sessions are traditionally more important: Tokyo Asian , London European , and New York North American.

Apart from the above listed major trading sessions, active traders also take account of the four other Minor trading sessions: Singapore Session Hong Kong Session Wellington Session Frankfurt Session These trading sessions work like a domino effect: one closes, another opens. Note: Hours in EST Eastern Standard Time Asian Trading Session Although the first sunrise is observed in New Zealand, the major trading activities begin in Tokyo Japan. Sydney forex trading session is from 5PM to 2AM.

What to expect during Asian Trading Session? The main players during the Tokyo session are central banks and companies. As Japan is an export-driven economy and China also has the same economic characteristics, a lot of truncations take place every day. Economies located in the Asia Pacific US, Japan, Australia, etc.

become more active during the Asian session. Most of the movements are observed in early trading sessions. London Trading Session European forex market activities begin just when the Asian trading session is about to close for the day.

What to expect during London Trading Session? New York trading session often follows the trends set by London. The forex market becomes less volatile during the lunch-break. Technical traders often take cues from the London trends. New York Trading Session Just when European traders are returning to their desks after lunch breaks, the New York session begins at 8AM. What to expect from the New York Session? As it overlaps with the European session for 3-hours, the early sessions are more volatile and liquid.

Any announcement by the Federal Reserves or the release of new economic data can set the tone of the trading day. As European markets end their session around the afternoon, the US market becomes less volatile. On Friday evening, the market observes very little movement. The best time for trading in Kenya according to 4 Major Sessions: 11PM — Sydney session 3AM — Tokyo session 11AM — London session 3PM — New York Session If you could wake up during the overlapping sessions between Tokyo and London or London and New York, you can take advantage of the most liquid and volatile sessions.

Education What is Forex Trading? Best Time to Trade Forex in Kenya What is Leverage in forex? Related Resources Best Forex Brokers Forex Trading platforms.

The Forex market also closes for the week at the same time on Friday. A wider spread means that there is a big gap between the bid and ask price. Dialog Heading. Instead, the forex market exists through a global web of brokers, market makers, and banks. New York trading session often follows the trends set by London. As Japan is an export-driven economy and China also has the same economic characteristics, a lot of truncations take place every day. As countries open and close for business, the major financial centers hand over the facilitation of trade to each other like a relay.

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