The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, because trading moves around the globe from one financial centre to the next. It opens on Sunday evening UTC when Sydney comes online and closes on Friday evening UTC when New York shuts. But not every hour is equal: liquidity, spreads, and volatility change dramatically depending on which session is active.
This guide explains the four trading sessions, when they open and close in UTC, where they overlap, and the best times to trade.
Highlights of this article
- Forex trades 24 hours a day, five days a week, across four sessions: Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York
- The market opens Sunday around 21:00 UTC and closes Friday around 21:00 UTC
- The London and New York overlap (about 13:00 to 17:00 UTC) is the most liquid, active window
- Session times shift by an hour when regions move on and off daylight saving time
- On a Velotrade funded account, forex runs Sunday 21:05 to Friday 20:55 UTC, with weekend holding allowed
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Why forex trades 24 hours
There is no single central exchange for forex. It trades over the counter between banks and brokers worldwide, so as one financial centre closes, another opens. Trading passes from Sydney to Tokyo to London to New York and then back to Sydney, keeping the market continuously open through the weekday.
That continuity is why forex suits traders in any timezone, but it also means the character of the market changes hour to hour. Knowing which session is active tells you what to expect from spreads and volatility.
The four trading sessions
Approximate session times in UTC (they shift by an hour with daylight saving in each region):
| Session | Opens (UTC) | Closes (UTC) | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 21:00 | 06:00 | Quieter open, AUD and NZD activity |
| Tokyo (Asian) | 00:00 | 09:00 | Moderate; JPY and Asian pairs most active |
| London (European) | 08:00 | 17:00 | Highest volume; tightest spreads on majors |
| New York (US) | 13:00 | 22:00 | High volume, especially on US data releases |
London is the single most active session because it overlaps the tail of Asia and the start of the US day, and because it handles the largest share of global FX volume.
The overlaps that matter
The busiest, most tradable windows are where two sessions are open at once:
- London and New York (about 13:00 to 17:00 UTC). The most liquid window of the day. Spreads are tightest, moves are cleanest, and most scheduled US data lands here. If you trade only one window, trade this one.
- Tokyo and London (about 08:00 to 09:00 UTC). A shorter overlap that can bring a burst of activity as Europe comes online.
Outside the overlaps, especially the late Asian session, liquidity thins and spreads widen, so intraday moves can be choppier and less reliable.
When does the forex market open and close?
The trading week opens on Sunday around 21:00 UTC as Sydney begins, and closes on Friday around 21:00 UTC when New York finishes. Over the weekend the market is closed to retail trading, though prices can gap when it reopens if major news broke while it was shut.
Exact open and close times vary slightly by broker and shift with daylight saving. On a Velotrade funded account, forex trades from Sunday 21:05 UTC to Friday 20:55 UTC, with a roughly two-minute halt near 21:00 UTC on weekday rollovers.
The best times to trade
- For liquidity and tight spreads: the London and New York overlap (13:00 to 17:00 UTC).
- For major moves: around scheduled US releases (FOMC, CPI, non-farm payrolls), which land during the US session. See what is FOMC trading and what is NFP trading.
- To avoid: the thin late-Asian hours and the minutes right around a major data release if you do not have a plan, spreads widen and slippage rises.
The best window also depends on the pair: EURUSD and GBPUSD are most active in the London and New York sessions, while JPY and AUD pairs see more action during Asia.
Overnight financing and weekends
Holding a forex position past the daily rollover incurs an overnight financing charge (a swap). On a Velotrade funded account this is 0.05% of notional per night, applied at the 21:00 UTC rollover on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, with a triple charge on Wednesday to cover the weekend, in line with forex market convention. Weekend holding is permitted, and positions carry through to the Sunday reopen. For how these costs fit the bigger picture, see how to trade forex.
Velotrade offers forex alongside crypto, indices, commodities, and stocks on one DXtrade funded account, with static maximum drawdown, no consistency rule, and news trading permitted. To compare firms for forex, see best prop firm for forex. Velotrade is unregulated and offers educational, simulated evaluations with real-time market pricing.
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About the author
Vittorio De Angelis
Executive Chairman
Former equity-derivatives trader at JP Morgan, Dresdner Kleinwort and Bank of America in London. Later Head of Brokerage at a global broker in Hong Kong.
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