The Forex Market is open for trading 24 hours a day, five days a week. The market is divided into 4 different sessions depending on the time of day. The daily trading session begins with the Pacific session, before moving on to the Asian, European, and American sessions. Things wrap up on Friday as many large financial institutions, banks, and other large investors are out for the weekend. Below, you can view the opening and closing times for each session along with the characteristics that make each session unique.
Pacific Trading Session
Working hours for forex trading begin once the Pacific sessions open on Monday. The Pacific trading session is based in Sydney and operates from 0:00 to 9:00. This session is known for being the least volatile time to trade and is generally the most peaceful.
Asian Trading Session
The Asian trading session is based in Tokyo and opens from 2:00 – 3:00 with a closing time between 11:00 and 12:00. Major currency pairs USD, EUR, JPY, and AUD are actively traded during this session.
European Trading Session
Based out of London, the European session opens at 10:00 and closes at 19:00. This session becomes more active after trading begins in London and experiences more of a lull in activity around lunch, before gaining more momentum in the evening. During this time, the market might experience stronger volatility because of the large money turnover.
American Trading Session
The last trading session of the day is the American session, which opens between 15:00 and 16:00 based in New York. The session wraps up between 0:00 and 1:00. The American session is the most active of the four trading sessions. Important news is released at the beginning of this session and trading becomes more aggressive towards the end of the day, especially on Fridays before the market closes for the weekend.
* All timeframes are based on Eastern European Time (GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer)