Market trading hours
To know the schedule of trading sessions on the financial markets means being able to rationally allocate one’s efforts and effectively use one’s possibilities and time. Trading sessions are periods of time when banks are actively trading. As is well-known, market trading hours are unlimited and it functions round the clock. When the evening begins in one part of the world, in another part - the morning comes and the local currency market starts working. Trading sessions come one after another, or partially overlap each other, giving traders a possibility to trade whenever convenient to them. Once logged in, you'll find foreign exchange market working at any time, except Saturday and Sunday, when all markets in all countries are closed. Likewise, currency market doesn't work on holidays, for example, Christmas, New Year, and Easter.
Schedule of foreign exchange market hours. The time zone is UTC+2 (Eastern European Time, EET):
| Region | City | Open | Close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | Tokyo | 2:00 | 10:00 |
| Hong Kong | 3:00 | 11:00 | |
| Singapore | 2:00 | 10:00 | |
| Europe | Frankfurt | 8:00 | 16:00 |
| London | 9:00 | 17:00 | |
| America | New York | 15:00 | 23:00 |
| Chicago | 16:00 | 24:00 | |
| Pacific | Wellington | 22:00 | 6:00 |
| Sidney | 22:00 | 6:00 |
To know the schedule of market trading hours is also useful because currencies behave differently according to different trading sessions. For instance, the yen usually “wakes up” and starts to move actively during the Asian session, while the euro is more active during the European session. At other times, sharp price movements for these particular currencies are unusual. The most aggressive trading session out of all is American, which can either significantly drop or, conversely, strengthen, its very own dollar.
As the Currency market employs a lot of countries from different time zones, it is considered to work according to universal time. At present instead of GMT standard, which is rendered obsolete, it's widely accepted to use UTC - Coordinated Universal Time. RoboForex server time differs from UTC by 2 hours (UTC +2), and in summer, with a switch to daylight-saving time, the difference equals to UTC +3.
Each regional Foreign exchange market has its own peculiarities.
Asian Market Trading Hours
During this trading timeframe the most active deals in the market exchange operations are the US dollar against the yen (USDJPY), the euro against the yen (EURJPY), the US dollar against the euro (EURUSD) and the Australian dollar against the US dollar (AUDUSD).
European Market Trading Hours
At this time the trades are conducted in the European financial centres. The volatility of the most popular currency pairs increases significantly after the London online market starts its trading session. Trading activity is somewhat reduced for dinner, but at night the players actively carry out operations again. Changes in rates during the European trading hours could be significant because the majority of monetary stock is concentrated in Europe.
American Market Trading Hours
Trading activity in currencies reaches its maximum level when the New York trading hours open and US banks begin to work, and European dealers return after their lunch break. The influence of European and American banks is similar, so no significant changes take place compared to the start of the European trading session. However, after the termination of the European market volatility may be higher. Often this is observed on Friday, before the weekend. The American trading session is more aggressive in trade than others.