Forex market hours
A free live clock showing which of the four major forex sessions are open right now, in your own local time, with the high-liquidity London and New York overlap highlighted. Built for Australian traders working out the best time to trade around AEST.
Which sessions are open now?
Live status of the four major forex sessions, with windows shown in your local time. Updates every minute.
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The four trading sessions
The forex market is open 24 hours a day during the week because trading passes between four major financial centres as the day moves around the globe. As one closes, the next is already open, so there is no daily close until the weekend.
- Sydney opens the trading week. It is the smallest of the four sessions but it is when AUD and NZD pairs first become active, which matters for Australian traders.
- Tokyo overlaps with the end of Sydney and brings in Asian liquidity. JPY pairs and AUD/JPY are most active here.
- London is the largest session by volume. EUR and GBP pairs come alive, spreads tighten, and volatility picks up across the board.
- New York overlaps with the back half of London. This overlap is the busiest window of the day, and US data releases land during it.
Each session runs for roughly nine hours, and the overlaps are where the action concentrates.
The best time to trade
If liquidity and tight spreads matter to you, the standout window is the London and New York overlap, when the two largest sessions are open at the same time. Volume is deepest, spreads are tightest, and the major pairs trend most cleanly. Most major US economic releases also fall in this window, which is where a lot of the day's movement comes from.
The Sydney and Tokyo overlap is the other active period and is far more convenient for Australian daytime trading, though liquidity is lower than the London and New York overlap. The quietest hours are between the New York close and the Sydney open, when no major centre is fully active and spreads tend to widen.
A simple rule that helps: trade a pair during its home session. AUD pairs are liveliest in the Sydney and Tokyo hours; EUR and GBP pairs in London; everything is active in the London and New York overlap.
Forex hours in Australian time
For Australian traders the practical takeaway is about timing the overlaps against your own schedule. The London and New York overlap falls in the late evening and early hours of the morning in eastern Australia, which is excellent for liquidity but awkward for sleep. The Sydney and Tokyo overlap sits in the Australian morning and is the convenient choice for daytime trading, accepting that spreads are a little wider than during the London and New York window.
The exact local times shift by about an hour when daylight saving starts or ends, both here and overseas, which is why the live clock above reads your device's timezone rather than a fixed table. Check it before you plan a session.
Trade the active session with an ASIC-regulated broker
Knowing when the market is liquid only helps if you are with a broker that delivers tight spreads and reliable execution during those windows. For active session trading, Pepperstone leads on execution and Fusion Markets on cost.
For the full field, see the best forex brokers in Australia ranking. New to the mechanics? Start with what is a pip and how to trade forex in Australia, and size trades with the position size calculator. CFD Service. Your capital is at risk.
Frequently asked questions
The forex market runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, across four major sessions that follow the sun: Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. Each is open for roughly nine hours, and because they overlap, the market is continuously open from the Sydney open on Monday morning to the New York close on Friday night. It closes over the weekend. The clock above shows which sessions are open right now in your local time.
The most active window is the London and New York overlap, when both of the largest sessions are open at once. This is roughly 13:00 to 17:00 UTC, which is late evening to early morning in eastern Australia. Liquidity is deepest and spreads are tightest then, which suits most strategies. The Sydney and Tokyo overlap is the other active window and is more convenient for Australian daytime trading, though liquidity is lower than the London and New York overlap.
The trading week opens with the Sydney session early on Monday morning Australian time, and the market then runs continuously until the New York close, which falls around Saturday morning Australian time. The exact local times shift by about an hour when daylight saving starts or ends, both in Australia and in the overseas financial centres. The live clock above converts the session windows to your device's local time automatically.
Use the clock above to check. The forex market is open 24 hours from the Sydney open on Monday to the New York close on Friday, and closed over the weekend. If you are viewing this on a weekend, the major sessions will all show as closed. During the trading week there is almost always at least one session open, and often two overlapping.
Because liquidity and volatility change through the day. A pair tends to move most when its home session is open: AUD pairs are most active in the Sydney and Tokyo hours, while EUR and GBP pairs come alive in the London session. Trading a pair during its quiet hours usually means wider spreads and choppier price action. Matching your pair to the active session is one of the simplest edges available.
Yes. The sessions are anchored to local working hours in each financial centre, so when Australia, the UK, the US or other regions move their clocks for daylight saving, the session times shift by about an hour relative to UTC and to each other. The live clock on this page reads your device's timezone, so it adjusts automatically, but be aware the overlap windows move slightly through the year.
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