Forex Trading Hours - They are not the same!

By Steve Maenshel

Forex trading hours are the hours of the opening and closing of the largest market in the world - the foreign exchange market. Forex trading hours overlap each other in various countries around the globe, and one can say that Forex is always open. However, in reality it is not completely so. Forex market is indeed always open, but not everywhere at the same time. As well as, some trading hours are better for trades than others. Forex opening and closing hours depend on the opening and the closing hours of the main financial institutions of various countries.

Experts identify four major time zones, whose Forex trading hours substantially differ: Australia, Asia, Europe and America. Forex trading hours in Tokyo begin at 23:00 GMT on Sunday. This starts the weekly trading session. The weekly trading session closes on Friday at 10 pm in Chicago.

Forex market does not stop its work even during the biggest holidays, because there will always be a region on Earth, which does not considered that day a holiday. The best examples are the opposing Christian and Muslim holidays. When a holiday starts in the Christian regions of the planet, you may simply concentrate your Forex trading hours on the financial centers of the Muslim countries, and vice versa. Even during the "global" holidays, currency trading usually does not just stop. For example, during the Catholic Christmas, you can still get the currency quotes from Muslim countries and other Asian countries banks.

Small volume of traded currencies (often referred to as thin) also occurs at the Forex market on the weekends, but the weekends spent trading at the Forex market, may not result in anything profitable, since it is very difficult to find a good contractor on the weekends, and it's even harder to find a good price.

Forex is an international currency exchange. This market is continuously working, just like a hive, with zillions of transactions, selling and buying different currencies - Euro, US Dollars, Pounds, Yens, Canadian Dollars and Australian Dollars. You will be able to freely trade on the Forex market within the Forex trading hours.

Why were Forex trading hours established? Why cant the market be open 24/7 without holidays? Forex trading hours are also needed for employees to carry out certain necessary operations to maintain order at the market, as well as for the traders to simply get some "rest".

Some people ask, why is it that Forex trading hours fall at night in their countries? Well, the reason behind that is that when it is night in one country, it is a daytime in another country. At the time when one country "goes to sleep", financial institutions in another country are just starting to open.

Four main time-zones of Forex trading hours around the globe:

Forex trading hours of various countries overlap one another, together totaling 24 hours each day for 5 days in the row. Thinner trades are also carried out on the weekends. Please take a look at the 4 main time-zones of the Forex trading hours (EST):

Tokyo Trading Hours: 19.00 to 04.00

New York, Trading Hours: 08.00 to 17.00 EST

London Trading Hours: 3.00 to 12.00 (noon)

Sydney, Trading Hours: 17.00 to 02.00 EST

Forex trading hours are important for the best trading results. Forex market will become somewhat different depending on the Forex trading hours that you will choose for your trades. - 23229

About the Author:

Author Steve Maenshel can help you understand forex trading hours. For more forex trading information, visit his forex resource center.