Forex Trading Hours
Forex trading hours are continuous from 22:05 GMT Sunday to
22:00 GMT Friday as the forex market travels from Sydney to Hong
Kong and from Hong Kong to Europe and from there it closes a
trading day in the US. This is more or less irrelevant to the
retail trader as what is important is that through online forex
he/she is enabled to access the online markets 24 hours a day with
no limitations and with opportunities for spontaneous reactions
to breaking news that can hit the headlines at any time of the
day around the clock.
The 24 hour nature of the forex market will allow the
online trader to engage in selling and trading at any time of
the day therefore allowing him/her to capitalise on information,
news or political changes regardless if business hours in his
jurisdiction are in sleeping hours making forex trading hours a
term that more or less cannot be touched upon. The average
trading volume of the forex market in a whole is estimated to
exceed the figure of 4 trillion dollars which is several times
larger than all the US stock markets combined and with the basic
and primary difference that the large majority of this figure
being speculative due to the high liquidity which is available
in the foreign exchange.
Star Financial Markets 24 hours customer support desk is also available so feel
free to send an email, talk to live chat or request a call back
for further help in regards to any questions or queries you
might have. During the hours when the forex markets are closed the
trading platform cannot execute trades and its features are
available only for viewing which can be used for familiarisation
with features or offerings of the trading platform itself.
Asian Trading Session
The Asian Trading session is the first major money centre to
open and therefore the start of the first major session in the
forex market. This is in line with the start of business hours
in Tokyo which is 7pm Eastern Time on Sunday. Only approximately
7.6% of forex transactions go through Tokyo trading desks, so it
is clear that the Asian trading session is the least active of
the three major sessions. The most actively traded currency
pairs during this session are Yen based ones with relatively
little other trading on the other currency pairs, and it is for
this reason that many hedge funds and large banks will use this
session to try to push the market in their favor.
European Trading Session
The next trading session to begin is the European trading
session which begins with the start of London business hours at
2 AM Eastern Standard Time. It should be noted that while New
York is considered by many to be the largest financial centre in
the world, London is still the main player of the forex market
with over 32% of all forex transactions carried out there. Prior
to the introduction of the Euro there were more than a dozen
other currencies in Europe making foreign exchange practically a
necessity for both businesses and individuals operating in the
region. Further to this, London’s time zone is very well placed
in terms of business hours for both eastern and western
economies. The high activity during the London session means
that it is also the most volatile for all of the currency pairs.
US Trading Session
Finally, there is the US session which begins with the start of
New York business hours at 8 AM Eastern Standard Time. In terms
of forex trading volumes, New York is a distant second to London
with roughly 19% of all forex transactions flowing through New
York Dealing Rooms. The most active time for the forex market is
approximately from 8am to 12pm when both London and New York
trading desks are open. This is when there is generally the
highest volatility in the market as it is also when the majority
of the major US economic announcements are released. The trading
day winds down after 12pm New York time with the majority of
electronic trading platforms closing for business at around 4 PM
Eastern Standard Time on Friday.
During forex market trading hours customers can place orders throughout
the day and additionally use the features incorporated in our
platform to support limit, stop and trailing stop orders. You
have the benefit of trading via telephone by speaking directly
to one of the dedicated dealers available around the clock to
assist you, help you or execute orders you cannot due to
internet connectivity problems or mobility issues.
Please note that once a trader opens a position it will remain
open until the time a matching close trade is executed;
positions that are open are valued at market price and update
your trading account in real time numbers.
Forex Trading Hours and Phone
Trading
If you may be away from your computer or you might be
experiencing mobility issues you may select to reach the dealing
desk by phone and further more place your requested orders.
Make sure to have your account login info available in order for
the dealing desk to be able to accommodate your orders.
If you wish to close a position, set a take profit or stop loss
order on an existing position you will additionally be requested
to provide the ticket number. In case of unsuccessful password
authorisation or if you refuse to go through this process, your
instructions will not be accepted. Once all security checks are
successful you can ask for a two-way quote for a particular pair
of currencies but you will have to specify the size of the
transaction. For example: “I would like a Dollar Japanese Yen
quote for 10 lots please”.
What are the most active Forex
trading Hours?
Although both the markets and trading-point.com are open 24
hours a day during the trading week, there are forex trading
hours which have a greater volume of trade, thereby increasing
the opportunities to make a profit. For traders who wish to
engage in day trading, the most productive hours are between the
opening of the London markets at 08:00 GMT and the closing of
the US markets at 22:00 GMT. The peak time for trading is when
the London and US markets overlap from 13:00 GMT until 16:00
GMT. The main sessions of the day are the London, US and Asian
markets. Some currencies are more active during particular
trading sessions than others and understanding this will allow
traders to make the most of the market.
- The London session is open from 08:00 GMT until 16:00 GMT and the most active currencies are the EUR, GBP and USD.
- The US session is open from 13:00 GMT until 22:00 GMT and is an active market for the USD, EUR, GBP, AUD and JPY.
- The Asian session is a relatively slow market for all
currency pairs and not generally suitable for day trading.
