Forex Market Business Hours For Traders
The first forex market to open is the Sydney market at 10 PM GMT and then the Tokyo market opens at 11 PM GMT and then the London market at 7 AM GMT and USA market at 12 PM GMT.
The Hours Of The Forex Market (Forex Market Open)
Region Open and Close Times
Sydney Open 10 PM GMT (summer) / 9 PM GMT (winter)
Sydney Close 7 AM GMT (summer) / 6 AM GMT (winter)
Tokyo Open 11 PM GMT (summer) / 11 PM GMT (winter)
Tokyo Close 8 AM GMT (summer) / 8 AM GMT (winter)
London Open 7 AM GMT (summer) / 8 AM GMT (winter)
London Close 4 PM GMT (summer) / 5 PM GMT (winter)
NY Open 12 PM GMT (summer) / 1 PM GMT (winter)
NY Close 9 PM GMT (summer) / 10 PM GMT (winter)
Forex business hours for trading greatly differ depending upon which market is up for discussion. However, the general consensus is that the forex market technically always open. The reason for this is because the market is always active somewhere in the world. Aside from holidays, the market is open 24 hours a day somewhere in the world. Every city has a different time zone, therefore each market operates on its own time and schedule. The reference time that is most commonly used is GMT. GMT stands for Greenwich Mean Time which is a good reference point for the forex market.
There are several cities that can be identified by their GMT opening and closing times. For example, New York will open at 1pm in Greenwich Mean Time and close at 10 pm in Greenwich Mean Time. Sydney will open at 10 pm in Greenwich Mean Time and close at 6 am in Greenwich Mean Time. Tokyo will open at 00 am in Greenwich Mean Time and close at 8 am in Greenwich Mean Time.
These are the basic references for GMT, as it is the default setting for identifying forex market times. New York, Sydney, and Tokyo are some of the most popular cities in the forex market. These cities conduct a large volume of forex trades. It is very important to use the same base time zone when comparing opening and closing times of markets around the world. For example, some websites will post the opening and closing times in EST. EST is the standard time zone of New York. It is very important for traders to pay close attention to the time zone as 9 am EST is different than 9 am GMT.
When it is past 5pm in New York City, it will be morning somewhere else in the world. This is why many traders consider the market to be open “24 hours a day.” However, each individual city is only open for 8 hours. This is the rule of forex markets. Confusion occurs when the opening and closing times are misinterpreted. Trading centers are always open at some locations in the world.
Many people also want to know if the market is open 5 days a week or 7 days a week. The answer to this is question is 5. Trading centers are open 5 days a week. However, with that being said it is very important to note that time differences can make it seem like the market is open more than 5 days a week depending upon which zone you are living in. Sunday evening will be Monday morning somewhere in the world. For this reason, it is very important to check the time in the market you plan to trade-in.
The benefit of the forex market is its endless options. You can trade at any time of the day or night, which allows traders flexibility and freedom. It is also important to note that trading spreads will be of top quality when the market is reaching a high volume.
