🌍 Ever wondered — why is Forex open 24 hours?

Think of the world as different time zones

• When you wake up — Americans are sleeping 🌙
• When you finish work — Europeans start trading 💼
• When you sleep — Americans wake up to trade 🗽

They take turns trading non-stop!

⏰ Trading Schedule (UTC/GMT)

📅 Forex Market Hours:
Sunday 22:00 → Friday 22:00 (UTC)

Closed on Saturday and Sunday only!

⏰ The 4 Major Sessions

The Forex market is divided into 4 sessions based on the world's major financial centers. Each session has a unique "personality":

🌅 Sydney — Quiet, warm-up phase. Wider spreads
🌸 Tokyo — Orderly, price moves in ranges. Good for range trading
🇬🇧 London — Aggressive, fast. Sets the day's trend (EUR/USD avg ~114 Pips)
🗽 New York — Explosive, news-driven. High volatility (EUR/USD avg ~92 Pips)

Infographic showing 4 Forex market sessions - Sydney, Tokyo, London, New York with overlap periods and trading tips — 4 Forex Market Sessions — The London-New York Overlap has the highest trading volume of the day

🔥 The Golden Hours — Why is the London-NY Overlap the Best?

From the infographic above, you can see that the London-New York Overlap is when both sessions are active simultaneously, which means:

Traders from the 2 largest markets trade at the same time — highest volume of the day
Trading volume accounts for ~70% of the entire day
Spreads are tighter than other periods due to high liquidity
Price movements are clearer, ideal for trend-following strategies

There is also the Tokyo-London Overlap which is interesting for EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY pairs, though volume is lower than the London-NY Overlap.

🎯 Which Session Suits Which Strategy?

Session	Best Strategy
Asian (Sydney + Tokyo)	Range Trading — Price moves within a range. Buy at support / Sell at resistance
London Open	Breakout — Price breaks through the Asian range when London opens
London + NY Overlap	Trend Following — Trade with the trend during peak volume
Late NY	Avoid — Volume drops, prices tend to reverse

📅 Which Day of the Week is Best?

Something many people do not know — not every day is equally good for trading:

• Tuesday - Thursday — Highest volume, clear price action. Best trading days
• Monday — Market just opened, low liquidity, no clear direction
• Friday afternoon (EST) — Volume drops sharply, traders close positions before the weekend

💡 Simple formula: Trade Tuesday-Thursday during the London-NY Overlap = best opportunity of the week

🚫 Times to Avoid

❌ Beginners should avoid these periods:

• Late night / early morning (low-activity gap) — Low liquidity, wide Spreads
• Friday evening — Traders closing positions before weekend, distorted prices
• 15 minutes before/after major news — Extreme volatility, unpredictable
• Saturday-Sunday — Market is 100% closed
• Christmas / New Year / US Bank Holidays — Very low liquidity, wide Spreads

💡 Tips for Choosing Your Trading Time

Choose hours when you are free
No rushing, no stress — trade with a clear mind
Trade the same hours every day
You will learn the market's "personality" during that time
Do not trade when tired!
A foggy mind = poor decisions
Check the news calendar
Know in advance when major news will be released
Watch out for Triple Swap on Wednesdays!
Holding positions overnight on Wednesday costs 3x Swap (because it includes Saturday-Sunday) — if Swap is negative, it may not be worth it

✅ Summary

Just remember this!

✅ Golden Hours: London + NY Overlap
✅ Secondary: Tokyo + London Overlap
❌ Avoid: Low-activity gaps and Friday evenings

💡 Best days: Tuesday through Thursday during the London-NY Overlap

🎯 Next Lesson: How to read candlestick charts — the Trader's main tool!
(Do not worry, we will start simple)