The forex, or foreign exchange market operates 24 hours a day, five days a week. There are four principal markets which serve as hubs for foreign currency exchange Sydney, New York, Tokyo and London, each of which has its own hours. These hours often overlap and since knowing when the markets are open is vital to making profitable trades, every trader needs to know the hours that these markets operate.
It is important to note that these listed periods are only in relation to the United States Eastern time zone. The New York market opens at 8am, and closes at 5pm. Tokyo opens at 7pm, and closes at 4am. Sydney runs from 5pm to 2am, and London, from 3am to 12pm.
Since there is little money to be made during the slow period of each of these markets, it is vital to learn when they will be active. For each, the morning hours are a good time, as are the evening. These are periods just before people leave to go to work, and the time just after they arrive home for the night.
However, the best times of all to trade are when different markets have overlapping hours of operation. For many traders, this is the only time that they consider worth trading during.
These overlaps include the periods where London and New York overlap between 8am and 12pm. Sydney and Tokyo overlaps between 7pm and 2am. London and Tokyo overlap as well. This occurs between 3am and 4am. Again, all of these listed periods are based on United States Eastern time. If you are not on the East coast, you will need to adjust these periods accordingly.
These overlap periods are the peak hours for Forex trading. Naturally, some of these overlaps happen when you are likely to be asleep. You can try to adjust your sleep schedule to take advantage of these times if this is possible for you.
If this is not an option for you, then you can try to trade during the busiest hours for your local market, especially where they coincide with the hours of other markets. The value of different world currencies will move less when there are few if any people trading them, so times when the trading volume is low are the least advantageous times to trade.
Those new to forex should take the time to memorize the forex trading hours before making their first trade. The ultimate goal is to make money, and this can best be done when working the market during the peak forex trading times.
Peddling within the boundaries of the forex trade arena is a highly dangerous game to play. Thousands of hopeful investors in the foreign exchange trading market are still peddling tirelessly.