Education

Currency Pairs: Market Hours
The spot FX market is unique to any other market in the world, as trading is available 24-hours a day. Somewhere around the world, a financial center is open for business, where banks and other institutions exchange currencies, every hour of the day and night with generally only minor gaps on the weekend. Essentially foreign exchange markets follow the sun around the world, giving traders the flexibility of determining their
trading day.

MARKET OVERLAP
Currencies tend to be most active when the markets overlap.

US/Europe Overlap:
8 AM - 12 PM (New York Time)

Europe/Asian Overlap:
2 AM - 5 AM (New York Time

How Market Hours Work

Time Zone New York GMT

Tokyo Open 7:00 PM 23:00
Tokyo Close 4:00 AM 8:00

London Open 3:00 AM 7:00
London Close 12:00 PM 16:00

NY Open 8:00 AM 12:00
NY Close 5:00 PM 21:00

Tokyo Trading Session
7:00 PM - 4:00 AM (EDT)/Average Daily Volume $210 bn
Tokyo is the first major market to open, and many large participants often use the trade momentum there as the benchmark to gauge market dynamics as well as to devise their trading strategies. Trading in Tokyo can be thin from time to time; large investment banks and hedge funds are known to use the Asian Session to run important stop and option barrier levels.
Most Active Currency Pairs
With activity, and subsequent liquidity, mostly concentrated in the British pound based currency pairs, (GBP/JPY, GBP/CHF), traders will find the most opportunity in trading these pairs after the 7PM EDT open. USD/JPY, AUD/USD, NZD/USD and their crosses also provide good opportunities as liquidity and momentum remains supported from the previous US session into the relatively lighter Asian session.

Useful Tips
Currency pairs to avoid
Market participants will want to avoid opening entries in any euro based pair (EURCHF, EURGBP and EURUSD) until the London session when European traders anticipate the open.
For "active" or volatility traders
USDJPY, GBPCHF and GBPJPY are good picks because their broad ranges provide short-term traders with lucrative profit potentials, averaging at 90 pips.
Risk averse?
USDJPY, GBPUSD and USDCHF are good choices because they allow medium to long-term traders to take fundamental factors into account when making a decision. The moderate volatility of the currency pairs will help shield traders and their investment strategies from irregular market movements due to intra-day speculative trades.

London Trading Session
3:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EDT)/Average Daily Volume $580 bn
London is the largest and most important dealing center in the world, with a market share of at least 30% and trading volume around $580 billion. Most of the dealing desks of large banks are located in London; the majority of major FX transactions are completed during London hours due to the market's high liquidity and efficiency. The vast number of market participants and their high transaction value makes London the most volatile FX market among all.
Most Active Currency Pairs
Traditionally a more volatile market, the London session is a good opportunity to transact in various GBP and EUR based currency pairs. As a result, currency pairs like GBPCHF, GBPJPY and GBPUSD comprise a considerable percentage of the volume, presenting favorable trading opportunities for market participants. The following pairs also exhibit much activity USDCHF, USDCAD, and EURUSD.
Useful Tip
JPY based pairs begin to lose their daily appeal and should not be considered for momentum trades as these currency pairs volume declines shortly after the overlap period ends.

New York Trading Session
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (EDT)/Average Daily Volume $330 bn
New York is the second most important market in FX, with approximately 16 % of market volume. New York trading is very liquid and is responsible for over 14% of world FX volume. In the United States spot market, the majority of deals are executed between 8AM and 12:00PM, when European traders are still active. Trading often becomes quite choppy after midday however, as liquidity dries up. In fact, there is a drop of over 50% in trading activity since California never served to bridge the gap between U.S and Asia. As a result, traders tend to pay less attention to market development in the afternoon. NY is very much influenced by the US equity and bond markets and pairs will often move closely in tandem with the capital markets.
Most Active Currency Pairs
Offering the most possibilities, the New York session provides activity and liquidity in USDCHF, GBPUSD, USDCAD and EURUSD, subsequently most dollar based pairs. Additionally, GBPCHF and GBPJPY momentum spills over from the previous session and comprises a good percentage in New York.

Useful Tip
Here, as a precaution, EURGBP and EURCHF should be avoided as liquidity dissipates during the overlap and does not rekindle until the following London open. As a result, the thin market will cause fluctuations that are unfavorable for the profit seeker.