The Forex Market Never Closes
The foreign exchange (forex) market is the only major financial market that operates 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. It opens on Monday morning in Sydney and closes on Friday afternoon in New York — but during those 120 hours, trading never stops. Understanding which sessions are active tells you when liquidity and volatility are highest.
The Four Major Forex Sessions
- Sydney Session: Opens 10:00 PM UTC Sunday / Closes 7:00 AM UTC. Lower volume; AUD, NZD pairs most active.
- Tokyo Session: Opens 12:00 AM UTC / Closes 9:00 AM UTC. JPY, AUD, NZD pairs most active. Ranges tend to be tighter.
- London Session: Opens 7:00 AM UTC (8:00 AM BST in summer) / Closes 4:00 PM UTC. Largest volume session. EUR, GBP, CHF most active.
- New York Session: Opens 12:00 PM UTC (1:00 PM EST) / Closes 9:00 PM UTC. USD pairs dominant. High volatility, especially in first 2 hours.
Session Overlaps: The Liquidity Sweet Spots
- Tokyo + London overlap: 7:00–9:00 AM UTC. Brief but active; EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY see elevated volatility.
- London + New York overlap: 12:00–4:00 PM UTC. Peak liquidity of the entire forex week. All major pairs active; tightest spreads.
The London–New York overlap (12:00–16:00 UTC) is when most professional forex traders focus their activity. During this 4-hour window, approximately 70% of the day's forex volume is transacted.
Trading Forex From Korea (KST)
KST is UTC+9, so the major sessions fall at these local times:
- Tokyo session opens: 9:00 AM KST — ideal for KST traders
- London session opens: 4:00 PM KST (winter) / 3:00 PM KST (summer)
- NY session opens: 9:00 PM KST (winter) / 8:00 PM KST (summer)
- London–NY overlap: 9:00 PM–1:00 AM KST (winter). Late evening, but peak liquidity.
Low-Activity Periods to Avoid
During the gap between New York's close (9:00 PM UTC) and Sydney's open (10:00 PM UTC), forex liquidity drops sharply. Price gaps can occur over the weekend close (Friday 9 PM UTC) through Sunday open (10 PM UTC Sunday). Holding positions over the weekend carries gap risk.
Economic Calendar Impact
Scheduled economic releases (non-farm payrolls, FOMC decisions, ECB announcements) cause sudden volatility spikes regardless of which session is active. Always check the economic calendar before trading around major release times, especially if your trading session overlaps with a high-impact announcement from a different region.