Forex Trading Hours

The Forex or foreign exchange market is known for being open 5 days a week, 24 hours a day. The reality of trading on the Forex market is that it is open five and half days a week and as long as the market is open you have the ability to place a trade. The Forex market is a network of computers and large banking institutions. Trading for the week begins at Sunday 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and runs through Friday 4:00 p.m. EST. You need to remember that you are trading worldwide and not just in the United States. Forex trading hours begin in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and then the United States.

Here is a breakdown of the open Forex trading hours:

New York Market times: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. EST
London Market times: 3:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. EST
Tokyo Market times: 7:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m. EST
Sydney Market times: 5:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. EST

Transactions on the Forex market remain high during the day, but peaks highest when the Asian market (which includes Australia and New Zealand), the European market and the United State market are open simultaneously. During these Forex trading hours are when you will want to make most of your trades to receive the most profitable trades. During each trading day, the total Forex volume is determined by the number of markets that are open and the times each of these markets overlap each other.

If you are watching the Forex trading hours, you will notice that two of the major markets overlap each other during trading hours; the Asian/European market from 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. EST and the European/United States from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m EST. Typically the best time to trade is during the Forex trading hours when the markets overlap each other.

Before you sign up with a Forex broker or a Forex trading service, make sure they have an international reach and have business hours covering the different time zones.