Updated . Session times are computed for today's date; the sources below were checked on the update date.
Forex session times by date (UTC)
Each row is one stretch between New York, London and Sydney clock changes.
| Period | London | New York | Overlap | Tokyo | Sydney | Week opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Now → 25 Oct 2026 | 07:00 – 16:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 16:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 21:00 |
| 25 Oct 2026 → 1 Nov 2026 London's clocks go back to GMT | 08:00 – 17:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 21:00 |
| 1 Nov 2026 → 14 Mar 2027 New York's clocks go back to EST | 08:00 – 17:00 | 13:00 – 22:00 | 13:00 – 17:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 22:00 |
| 14 Mar 2027 → 28 Mar 2027 New York's clocks go forward to EDT | 08:00 – 17:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 21:00 |
| 28 Mar 2027 → 3 Apr 2027 London's clocks go forward to BST | 07:00 – 16:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 16:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 21:00 |
| 3 Apr 2027 → 2 Oct 2027 Sydney's clocks go back to AEST | 07:00 – 16:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 16:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 21:00 (previous day) – 06:00 | Sun 21:00 |
| 2 Oct 2027 → 17 Oct 2027 Sydney's clocks go forward to AEDT | 07:00 – 16:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 12:00 – 16:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | Sun 21:00 |
Why the times move
Session times move whenever New York, London or Sydney changes its clocks, on different dates. Each row is one stretch between changes over the next twelve months.
Spot forex trades from Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time: Sunday 21:00 UTC until 1 Nov 2026. London and New York overlap from 08:00 New York time to London's 17:00 close: 12:00–16:00 UTC in the current period (until 25 Oct 2026). Times below follow each city's daylight saving.
Best time to trade forex
The London–New York overlap, 08:00–12:00 New York time; session by session on the best time to trade forex page.
Why this window, with the source
The London–New York overlap: 08:00 to 12:00 New York time, which is 13:00–17:00 UTC in mid-January and 12:00–16:00 UTC in mid-July. It is the only part of the day when the two largest FX trading locations are both in their business day. The United Kingdom handled 38% of global FX turnover in April 2025, and the UK, the US, Singapore and Hong Kong together 75% (BIS Triennial Survey, published 30 September 2025). In the weeks of March and late October when New York and London are out of step, the overlap runs five hours, 08:00 to 13:00 New York time.
That is a fact about where trading happens, not a promise about price. Turnover by location says nothing about how a particular pair moves in a particular hour; costs, scheduled news and your own rules decide whether a window suits you. The measurements below show how far one market, gold, actually moved in each session over the past year.
How far gold moved in each session (ProEA data)
Gold's median range in each session over the past year, measured by ProEA.
| Session | Hours | Median range | Middle half of sessions | Median, % of price | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 9 | $51.78 | $39.15 – $70.13 | 1.20% | 252 |
| Tokyo | 9 | $56.14 | $42.38 – $76.27 | 1.28% | 257 |
| London | 9 | $61.75 | $47.69 – $88.42 | 1.43% | 257 |
| New York | 9 | $64.99 | $47.53 – $89.96 | 1.47% | 249 |
| London–New York overlap | 4 (5 some weeks) | $54.47 | $41.02 – $73.54 | 1.22% | 257 |
What the measurement shows, and how
Over 257 trading days from 1 October 2025 to 29 September 2026, gold's widest median session ranges were in New York ($64.99) and London ($61.75). The four-hour London–New York overlap alone had a median range of $54.47.
Method: XAUUSD bid prices from Dukascopy, 5-minute bars, 1 October 2025 to 29 September 2026: the dataset behind ProEA's practice replays. Each session is its centre's business hours, converted with daylight saving and clipped to the forex week; its range is the highest high minus the lowest low of the bars inside it. Sessions with fewer than 75% of their 5-minute bars (holidays, early closes) are left out. Gold's daily one-hour break falls inside the Sydney session, so Sydney is measured over eight hours. Ranges are in US dollars per ounce, before spread and costs; the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Measured 8 October 2026 with scripts/market-hours/gold-session-ranges.ts. Past ranges, not a forecast.
Forex session times in UTC
Sydney 07:00–16:00, Tokyo 09:00–18:00, London and New York 08:00–17:00 local, read on UTC.
| Session (local hours) | UTC, mid-January (UTC) | UTC, mid-July (UTC) |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney 07:00–16:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 | 21:00 (previous day) – 06:00 |
| Tokyo 09:00–18:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 | 00:00 – 09:00 |
| London 08:00–17:00 | 08:00 – 17:00 | 07:00 – 16:00 |
| New York 08:00–17:00 | 13:00 – 22:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 |
The local hours behind the table
Each session is its city's business day on its own clock: Sydney 07:00–16:00, Tokyo 09:00–18:00, London 08:00–17:00 and New York 08:00–17:00. Converted to UTC, they move with daylight saving, so the table shows a mid-January and a mid-July day.
Forex session times in New York time (EST/EDT)
London opens at 03:00 New York time, or 04:00 in the weeks the two clocks are out of step.
| Session (local hours) | New York, mid-January (UTC−5) | New York, mid-July (UTC−4) |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney 07:00–16:00 | 15:00 (previous day) – 00:00 | 17:00 (previous day) – 02:00 |
| Tokyo 09:00–18:00 | 19:00 (previous day) – 04:00 | 20:00 (previous day) – 05:00 |
| London 08:00–17:00 | 03:00 – 12:00 | 03:00 – 12:00 |
| New York 08:00–17:00 | 08:00 – 17:00 | 08:00 – 17:00 |
When London moves on New York time
Many charts and most ICT material use New York time. On that clock New York's own session never moves, but London opens at 03:00 for most of the year and at 04:00 in the weeks when New York is on daylight time and London is not: in March New York changes first, and in late October London changes first.
When do the forex sessions overlap?
London–New York, and the shorter Sydney–Tokyo and Tokyo–London overlaps, on UTC.
| Overlap | Mid-January | Mid-July |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney + Tokyo | 00:00 – 05:00 (5 h) | 00:00 – 06:00 (6 h) |
| Tokyo + London | 08:00 – 09:00 (1 h) | 07:00 – 09:00 (2 h) |
| London + New York | 13:00 – 17:00 (4 h) | 12:00 – 16:00 (4 h) |
Which overlap matters
The London and New York overlap is the stretch when the two largest trading locations' business days coincide (the turnover figures are under Best time to trade forex). The table also lists the shorter Sydney–Tokyo and Tokyo–London overlaps, on UTC for a mid-January and a mid-July day.
When does the forex market open and close for the week?
Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time.
| Weekly | Mid-January | Mid-July |
|---|---|---|
| Opens (Sunday 17:00 New York) | Sunday 22:00 | Sunday 21:00 |
| Closes (Friday 17:00 New York) | Friday 22:00 | Friday 21:00 |
Broker hours, with a source
Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time. OANDA, for example, lists 17:05 Sunday to 16:59 Friday New York time with a short daily break from 16:59 to 17:05 (OANDA hours of operation, checked 7 October 2026). Your broker's hours, holidays and platform server time can differ.
Is forex open on Christmas and New Year?
Mostly not on 25 December and 1 January; the exact hours are your broker's.
Venue and broker holiday hours, with sources
Mostly not, and the exact hours are your broker's. Spot forex has no exchange to close it, but the venues and brokers it trades through set holiday hours. Cboe FX, an electronic venue for spot FX, lists 25 December and 1 January as its holidays (Cboe FX hours and holidays, checked 8 October 2026). OANDA's European site listed FX as trading until 22:59 on 24 December 2025 and again from 23:05 on 25 December, with the same pattern around 1 January 2026 (OANDA holiday trading hours, checked 8 October 2026; times as published, without a time zone).
Brokers publish a new schedule every December. The live clock and the tables on this page do not model holidays, so check your broker's notice before the holiday weeks.
What time does gold (XAUUSD) trade?
Gold futures: Sunday to Friday, 18:00 to 17:00 New York time, with a daily one-hour break.
Exchange hours, the break on UTC and broker gold
Gold futures trade on CME Globex from Sunday to Friday, 18:00 to 17:00 New York time (17:00 to 16:00 Chicago time), with a 60-minute break each day beginning at 17:00 New York time (CME Group gold futures contract specs, checked 8 October 2026). On UTC the daily break is 22:00–23:00 in mid-January and 21:00–22:00 in mid-July, and it begins at the same moment as the forex day's 17:00 New York close.
Spot gold quoted as XAUUSD by a forex or CFD broker is not an exchange contract: the broker sets its sessions, daily break and holiday hours. Check the symbol's trading hours in your platform; in MT5 they are listed in the symbol's Specification.
Why your MT5 clock shows a different time
MT5 shows your broker's server time, often UTC+3 or UTC+2, not your own clock.
Server time, with sources
MetaTrader 5 shows the broker's server time, not your computer's, and stamps every candle on that clock. Many brokers set the server clock so that its midnight falls at 17:00 New York time, the forex day's close: UTC+3 while New York is on daylight time and UTC+2 for the rest of the year. The week then opens at 00:00 on Monday server time, with no short Sunday candle. Darwinex, for example, says its MetaTrader time is set to the New York close, GMT+3 during US summer time and GMT+2 after it (Darwinex, checked 8 October 2026). IC Markets moved its server clock from GMT+2 to GMT+3 on 8 March 2026 because the US entered daylight saving (IC Markets, checked 8 October 2026).
It varies by broker, so treat the offset as something to check, not a rule: read your broker's server-time page, or compare the time at the top of MT5's Market Watch with UTC. The times on this page are on your own clock, not server time.
Forex market hours on your clock
22 clocks, one page each, with that clock's own daylight-saving dates.
- Forex Market Hours in India (IST)
- Forex Market Hours in Nigeria (WAT)
- Forex Market Hours in South Africa (SAST)
- Forex Market Hours in the Philippines
- Forex Market Hours in Pakistan (PKT)
- Forex Market Hours in Kenya (EAT)
- Forex Market Hours in Dubai, UAE (GST)
- Forex Market Hours in Malaysia (MYT)
- Forex Market Hours in Singapore (SGT)
- Forex Market Hours in Indonesia (WIB)
- Forex Market Hours in Thailand (UTC+7)
- Forex Market Hours in Vietnam (UTC+7)
- Forex Market Hours in Bangladesh (UTC+6)
- Forex Market Hours in Sri Lanka (SLST)
- Forex Market Hours in Ghana (GMT)
- Forex Market Hours in Egypt (EET/EEST)
- Forex Market Hours in Japan (JST)
- Forex Market Hours in CET/CEST (Central Europe)
- Forex Market Hours in the UK (GMT/BST)
- Forex Market Hours in EST/EDT (New York)
- Forex Market Hours in PST/PDT (Pacific Time)
- Forex Market Hours in Australia (Sydney)
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Why do sources list different session times?
No exchange publishes one timetable; this page writes one set down and converts it exactly.
Where guides disagree
Spot forex is traded over the counter, so no exchange publishes one timetable. Guides agree on the Sunday-to-Friday week and mostly on London and New York; they differ on the Asian sessions and on where a session "ends". Tokyo is often given as 09:00–18:00 local, and at least one widely used library ends London at 16:00. This page writes one set down and converts it exactly; if you use another, the offsets and daylight-saving dates are the same.