The forex market trades around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday evening UK time, but it is far busier at some hours than others. Activity follows the working day around the world through four sessions, named after Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. The session tells you roughly how much a pair is likely to move and how wide its spread is likely to be.
What you will learn
- The four main forex trading sessions and their usual hours in UK time
- How clock changes in the UK, the US, Japan and Australia move those hours
- Where the sessions overlap and why the London and New York overlap stands out
- Which markets tend to be active in each session
What are the four forex trading sessions?
Each session roughly covers the business day in its city. The times below are the usual conventions in UK time. They are not official opening bells, and sources differ by an hour or so.
- Sydney: about 22:00 to 07:00.
- Tokyo: 00:00 to 09:00 in the UK winter, 01:00 to 10:00 in the UK summer.
- London: 08:00 to 17:00.
- New York: 13:00 to 22:00.
Liquidity is how much buying and selling is going on, which decides how easily an order fills near the quoted price. Volatility is how far the price moves in a given time. Both tend to rise when a big session opens and fall as it closes.
Your platform sets its own trading hours for each symbol, and they can differ from these conventions. Check the symbol information before you plan a trade around a time.
How do clock changes move the session times?
The UK, the US and Australia all move their clocks, on different dates, and Japan does not move its clocks at all. That shifts some sessions on the UK clock.
- London's hours stay at 08:00 to 17:00 UK time all year, because they are London's own local hours.
- The US changes its clocks on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November. The UK changes on the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. For two or three weeks in March and one week around the end of October, London and New York are four hours apart instead of five, and the New York session starts at 12:00 UK time.
- Japan has no daylight saving, so Tokyo starts an hour later on the UK clock while British Summer Time is in force.
- Australia changes its clocks in the opposite season to the UK, so the Sydney session can move by up to two hours on the UK clock across the year.
Take 2026 as a worked example. UK clocks go back on 25 October and US clocks go back on 1 November. On Wednesday 28 October, the New York session starts at 12:00 UK time, and US data released at 08:30 New York time comes out at 12:30 UK time. From 2 November both are back to 13:00 and 13:30.
If you live outside the UK, convert once and write the times down. Dubai, for example, is four hours ahead of the UK in the UK winter and three hours ahead in the UK summer, because Dubai does not change its clocks. The London open at 08:00 UK time is 12:00 in Dubai in winter and 11:00 in summer.
Where do the sessions overlap?
London and New York overlap from 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, or from 12:00 in the clock-change weeks. These four hours are usually the most liquid part of the day for the major pairs, especially EUR/USD and GBP/USD, because the two biggest centres for currency trading are open at once. London handles more currency trading than any other city, and New York comes next. Many US economic releases, including the monthly jobs report, come out at 08:30 New York time, which is 13:30 UK time for most of the year, so this window also carries a lot of news.
Sydney and Tokyo overlap from around midnight to 07:00 UK time. Tokyo and London overlap briefly from 08:00 to 09:00 in the UK winter and 08:00 to 10:00 in the UK summer.
How do liquidity and volatility change through the day?
During the Asian hours, EUR/USD and GBP/USD often trade in narrower ranges. Pairs with the yen and the Australian or New Zealand dollar tend to be more active, because their home markets are open.
At 08:00 UK time, London opens and activity picks up sharply. Price often tests the high or low of the overnight range in the first hours.
From 13:00 to 17:00, the overlap brings the most liquidity for the majors, and the news releases above can produce the fastest moves of the day.
From about 21:00 to 23:00 UK time, liquidity is thin. Few participants are active around the daily rollover at 17:00 New York time, and spreads often widen.
To see what a wider spread costs, suppose EUR/USD shows a spread of 0.8 pips at 14:00 and 2.5 pips at 22:30. One standard lot is worth $10 a pip, so opening one lot costs $8 in spread at 14:00 and $25 at 22:30, before the trade has moved at all. The numbers are illustrations; check the live spread on your own platform at the hour you trade.
Other markets keep their own hours
Index and share CFDs follow their home exchanges more closely than forex does. The London Stock Exchange trades from 08:00 to 16:30 UK time. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq trade from 09:30 to 16:00 New York time, which is 14:30 to 21:00 UK time for most of the year. Some platforms quote index CFDs outside those hours, usually with less activity. Cryptocurrencies trade on most venues around the clock, weekends included.
Sessions and the CMC Funded rules
News trading is allowed on CMC Funded, and so is holding positions overnight and over the weekend, with holding costs. The daily loss limit is measured on equity, so a fast move at 13:30 counts against it the moment it shows on an open trade. On a $50,000 Classic account the daily loss limit is $2,500. Size any trade you hold into a release for the move you could see, and read the rules page for the limits on every account. The order types lesson explains why a stop can fill past its level in that kind of move.
Check your understanding
On 28 October 2026, what time does the New York session start in the UK?
12:00. UK clocks went back on 25 October, and US clocks do not go back until 1 November, so for that week the two cities are four hours apart.
Which overlap usually has the most liquidity for EUR/USD?
London and New York, from 13:00 to 17:00 UK time for most of the year.
Why might the spread on EUR/USD be wider at 22:30 UK time than at 14:00?
Around the daily rollover few participants are trading, so liquidity is thin and spreads often widen.
Key points
- The four sessions in UK time are roughly Sydney 22:00 to 07:00, Tokyo 00:00 to 09:00 (01:00 to 10:00 in summer), London 08:00 to 17:00 and New York 13:00 to 22:00.
- Clock changes move the sessions on the UK clock, and the US and UK change on different dates.
- The London and New York overlap, 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, is usually the most liquid stretch for the major pairs.
- Liquidity is thin around the daily rollover, when spreads often widen.
- Your platform's own symbol hours decide when you can trade, so check them.
Next lesson: Reading candlestick charts
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