While forex markets appear to be functioning non-stop, active forex trading actually only takes place under the sun as major forex markets open and close.  Opening and closing of a large forex market are major events and should be watched closely.  Repeating patterns develop around market open and close times and sometimes persist for weeks.  These forex trading patterns are commonly attributed to central bank interventions and similar actions which take extended periods of time. 

Spikes and gaps are also common at these points in time – especially within 30 minutes of market opening. Watch your stops! Survival in online forex trading is easier when you know when to expect the turbulence. 

Here is a list of times to look for:

GMT is Greenwich Mean Time, EST is Eastern Standard Time. 

Euro Session 

London session opens daily at 8:00 GMT(3:00 EST) and closes at 17:00 GMT (12:00 EST). London is one of the largest financial centers in the world and has a market share no less than 30%.  Forex markets are affected by other transactions in London, such as LIBOR and gold fixes.  Pairs to watch during this session include USD/CHF, USD/CAD and EUR/USD.

New York Session / American Session

This session opens daily at 13:00 GMT (8:00 EST) and closes at 22:00 GMT (17:00 EST). The hot time in this session is usually when the euro traders are still active, which is between 13:00 and 17:00 GMT (8:00 – 12:00 EST).  This is when most of the daily volatility occurs. Forex trading patterns may be most frequently observed in USD/CHF, GBP/USD, USD/CAD and EUR/USD.

Asian Session

Tokyo starts off the morning at 12:00 GMT (19:00 EST) and ends at 21:00 GMT (04:00 EST).  Counterintuitively, this is when most patterns in currency pairs with the GBP develop, especially, GBP/JPY, GBP/CHF.  All asian currencies should be watched, too, of course, including USD/JPY, AUD/USD, NZD/USD pairs and their crosses.