Forex market hours and live sessions clock
See which forex sessions are open right now in your own time zone, how long until the next open or close, and where London and New York overlap. Session times follow each city's local hours, so daylight saving is handled for you.
Trade your best session on a simulated funded account
Forex pairs on Velotrade run from Sunday 21:05 to Friday 20:55 UTC, and crypto, stocks, commodities and index ETFs trade around the clock, so the challenge fits whichever session you trade.
Forex session hours in UTC and ET
Each session follows the local business hours of its city. Winter here means January, when New York is on EST (UTC-5) and London on GMT. Summer means July, when New York is on EDT (UTC-4) and London on BST. Sydney runs the other way round, on daylight time in January and standard time in July, and Tokyo never changes.
| Session | Local hours | ET, winter | ET, summer | UTC, winter | UTC, summer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 9:00 to 18:00 | 5:00pm to 2:00am | 7:00pm to 4:00am | 22:00 to 07:00 | 23:00 to 08:00 |
| Tokyo | 9:00 to 18:00 | 7:00pm to 4:00am | 8:00pm to 5:00am | 00:00 to 09:00 | 00:00 to 09:00 |
| London | 8:00 to 17:00 | 3:00am to 12:00pm | 3:00am to 12:00pm | 08:00 to 17:00 | 07:00 to 16:00 |
| New York | 8:00 to 17:00 | 8:00am to 5:00pm | 8:00am to 5:00pm | 13:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 21:00 |
The US changes its clocks on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November, the UK on the last Sunday in March and October, and Sydney on the first Sunday in October and April. In the weeks between those dates the sessions sit an hour apart from this table. Some brokers quote fixed ET times instead, so their Sydney and Tokyo times can differ by an hour from these.
Session overlaps
| Overlap | ET, winter | UTC, winter | UTC, summer | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| London and New York | 8:00am to 12:00pm | 13:00 to 17:00 | 12:00 to 16:00 | Deepest liquidity of the day and most US data releases |
| Tokyo and London | 3:00am to 4:00am | 08:00 to 09:00 | 07:00 to 09:00 | Short burst as Europe opens, busy for EURJPY and GBPJPY |
| Sydney and Tokyo | 7:00pm to 2:00am | 00:00 to 07:00 | 00:00 to 08:00 | Asian hours, AUD, NZD and JPY pairs most active |
Best time to trade forex
For most traders the best window is the London and New York overlap, from 8am to 12pm New York time. The two largest FX centres are open together: in the BIS 2022 Triennial Survey the United Kingdom handled 38% of global FX turnover and the United States 19%. Deeper liquidity usually means tighter spreads on the major pairs.
- Day trading the majors: Trade the London and New York overlap. Most scheduled US data lands here, so check the calendar first.
- EUR and GBP pairs: The London session, from 3am to 12pm New York time, carries the most activity for EURUSD, GBPUSD and the crosses.
- JPY, AUD and NZD pairs: The Sydney and Tokyo sessions. Moves are often smaller, which suits range strategies.
- Swing trading: Timing matters less. Avoid opening new positions in the thin hour around the 5pm New York rollover, when spreads tend to widen.
- Late Friday and Sunday open: Liquidity thins before the weekly close, and prices can gap when the market reopens on Sunday.
For the full guide to each session and its pairs, read forex market hours explained. If you also trade index or commodity futures, the futures market hours guide covers CME trading times and their daily breaks.
The weekend gap
Forex closes on Friday at about 5pm New York time, which is 22:00 UTC in winter and 21:00 UTC in summer, and reopens on Sunday at about 5pm New York time as Sydney starts. Over the weekend there is no retail trading, but news still happens. If something big breaks, the first Sunday price can be well away from Friday's close, and stop orders fill at the first available price rather than at the stop level.
Markets on Velotrade
Trading hours on a Velotrade evaluation or funded account. Only forex follows the weekly session cycle. Everything else trades around the clock.
| Market | Instruments | Trading hours |
|---|---|---|
| Forex pairs | 39 | 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, from Sunday 21:05 to Friday 20:55 UTC, with a halt of about 2 minutes near 21:00 UTC from Monday to Thursday |
| Crypto | 104 | 24/7, including weekends |
| Stocks | 77 | 24/7, including weekends |
| Commodities | 7 | 24/7, including weekends |
| Index ETFs | 7 | 24/7, including weekends |
Leverage and commission for every symbol are on the instruments page, and the forex market page covers the pairs, costs and overnight swaps.
Keep reading
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Frequently asked questions
Common questions about forex market hours, sessions and the best time to trade.
Sources
- OANDA, "Understanding forex trading sessions: When is the best time to trade": session times in ET, the Sunday 5pm to Friday 5pm week and the London and New York overlap.
- BIS, "OTC foreign exchange turnover in April 2022" (Triennial Central Bank Survey): $7.5 trillion a day in FX turnover, 38% of it in the United Kingdom and 19% in the United States.
- NIST, "Daylight Saving Time Rules": US clocks change on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
- GOV.UK, "When do the clocks change?": UK clocks change on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October.
- NSW Government, "Daylight saving": Sydney starts daylight saving on the first Sunday in October and ends it on the first Sunday in April.
Velotrade hours are taken from the instrument list of 19 September 2026. Velotrade offers simulated trading evaluations for educational purposes.
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