Trading Hours

TRADING HOURS


Since Ellipsys offers trading not only FX currencies pairs, but also indices, metals, energies, and CFDs, trading hours of a single trading instrument may differ. Please see the schedule of market hours for various trading instruments:

FOREX

Name Monday (GMT+3) Tuesday (GMT+3) Wednesday (GMT+3) Thursday (GMT+3) Friday (GMT+3)
All FX pairs 00:01-23:59 00:01-23:59 00:01-23:59 00:01-23:59 00:01-23:58

TRADING SESSIONS


The foreign exchange market has specific working hours. There are several Forex trading sessions with different schedules. During each session, there is a certain currency that experiences high volatility.

Session City Open (EET*) Close (EET*)
Pacific Sydney 0:00 9:00
Asian Tokyo 2:00-3:00 11:00-12:00
European London 10:00 19:00
American New York 15:00-16:00 0:00-1:00

Pacific trading session

Forex starts its working hours when the Pacific session opens on Monday local time. This session is characterized by rather low volatility, and, as a matter of fact, this is the most peaceful time in the market.

Asian trading session

The Asian session follows the Pacific session. Currency pairs that include USD, EUR, JPY, and AUD are traded actively during these hours. The high trading volume of AUD takes place due to the intersection of the working time of this session with the Pacific one.

European trading session

The opening of the European session starts in financial centers such as Frankfurt, Zürich, and Paris. Trading gets even more active when it comes to London. The activity fades away during lunchtime but then resumes by evening. Fairly strong volatility may be noticed during the European session because the European zone has a large money turnover.

American trading session

The most active time in the foreign exchange market is the beginning of the American session because it reaches the opening hours in New York and the renewal of trading in Europe. Fundamental news of high importance is released at the beginning of the American session. It is characterized by high activity especially on Friday before the trading is closed.

  • HOW TO USE THIS INFO IN PRACTICE?

    To make use of knowing the Forex trading hours, mind the following tips:

    • The highest trading activity is observed during the European and American sessions, so this is the best time to trade. In those hours, most transactions are carried out, and trading spreads are the lowest.
    • You may also notice that some trading sessions overlap, so during these hours, volatility is usually the highest.
    • In the Asian session, the Japanese yen is traded the most actively.
    • The activity in the European session is the highest during two periods: 10:00-14:00 and 15:00-19:00.
    • Be careful during the "thin" market – a transitional time between sessions when there is not enough liquidity to maintain a stable price chart, i.e. strong impulses are possible.
    • During the New Year rally, large banks and exchanges are closed for holidays; companies withdraw funds for summing up the results and reporting. This is a long "thin" market when you need to be extremely careful.
    • The gap often follows the market opening after the weekend, so we recommend you protect your funds by placing Stop Loss and Take Profit orders or even close all positions on Friday.