Currencies are traded 24 hours a day 5 days a week worldwide. Market Trading opens Monday morning in Wellington, New Zealand, and remains open Friday evening in New York, United States.
Knowing which trading sessions are active now, can help you choose which pairs to trade and which economic events to review before trading.
Each trading day can be divided into three trading sessions, depending on which financial center is active for a certain period of time. Opening and closing times of each session, based on local business hours:
Asian & Australian Session (Tokyo & Sydney)
With the main trading center in Tokyo, the Asian session also includes China, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia.
The first financial center to open after the weekend in Wellington, New Zealand, while the Tokyo capital market opens only at 02:00 EET (03:00 EEST). Closing hours continued with the opening of the European session.
Important economic data from the region that may influence the European and American sessions are released during this time. You can expect significant price movements in USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, and AUD/JPY.
Europe Session (London)
When the financial hubs through Asia are about to close, European markets start their day. As the European session coincides with the Asian and American sessions, there is usually an increase in market volatility and liquidity, however, spreads tend to be tighter during the London session.
The most significant economic news is released from the eurozone, UK and Switzerland.
It is not uncommon for a trend starting during the European session to continue until the beginning of the New York session. The most liquid pairs are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, EUR/GBP, and EUR/CHF.
American Session (New York)
Dominated by the United States with a major financial center in New York, the American session also includes Canada and South American countries.
Of course, there was high liquidity in the first half of the session, while the European market was still open. The number of economic indicators that have a huge impact on the market is released by the United States and Canada, so be sure to check the economic calendar beforehand to keep track of upcoming news.