Lets look at Forex trading hours and see the best times to trade Forex. Currencies are traded 24 hours a day, from Sunday afternoon EST* (Eastern Standard Time) to Friday afternoon EST. Throughout this period, there is always at least one financial centre open for business, as one market closes for the night, others open somewhere else, because forex trading hours overlap, currencies are being traded continuously – here are the opening times of the major financial centres around the world, all times again are EST...

Global Financial Centres Trading Times

Australia: 5pm - 1 am

Tokyo: 7 pm - 3 am

Singapore/Hong Kong: 9 pm - 5 am

Frankfurt: 2 am - 10 am

London: 3 am - 11 am

New York 8 am – 5pm

Of course some market times overlap and the main overlaps are below...

New York and London: from 8 am to 12 am (EST)

Sydney and Tokyo: from 7 pm to 2 am

London and Tokyo markets overlap one hour, from 3 am to 4 am.

What does this mean?

Trading EUR/USD, GBP/USD, or USD/CHF between 8 am and 12 am (EST) is when the largest volume of trades occurs and at this times volumes are heavy and volatility is high; many traders feel there is a greater chance of making significant profit in this period.

Another good time to trade is seen as from 1 am to 3 am EST, as European markets are waking up while Asian markets are closing. The same goes for the 7 pm to 10 pm EST time period, when the Asian and Australian markets are trading together although volumes are lighter in these periods, than the two others mentioned.

So are these overlaps the best times to trade Forex?

Personally, the best times to trade Forex in my experience are - when London overlaps with Tokyo, New York overlaps with London and the US markets close the day and there is no overlap. In fact of all these time periods my favourite is after the US close which goes back to the time when retail traders could only trade CME futures.

If you are swing trading or trend following, I personally don't see any period as better than any other, as set ups confirm themselves across all time periods. You will get day traders claim you should only trade Forex market hours when overlaps occur but scalping and day trading is just trading market noise and is doomed to failure in any time period.

Pick Hours that Suit You and Be Consistent

Pick a couple of trading times of day that fit in with your work pattern and stick with these Forex market hours and providing you are consistent, your strategy will function in what ever time period you choose.