Wanting to know more about the Sydney session forex time, or what time is the Sydney session in relation to global forex trading hours? Find out here!
The forex market operates 24-hours a day, five days a week. However, this doesn’t mean that all hours are equally suitable for trading.
The key to successful forex trading lies in trading during periods of high market activity, where there are significant volumes of trades.
Here we take a close look at global forex trading hours, and then at the Sydney session forex time, explaining the best times to trade.
Trading hours for forex
Forex trading is divided into four major sessions around the globe:
What are forex trading hours?
Each forex trading session corresponds to the business hours of major financial centres worldwide.
However, unlike share trading, which is strictly governed by the opening and closing times of major stock markets, forex trading does not have a regulated central market.
Therefore, there’s no ‘opening bell’ that signals the formal start of a forex trading session.
Forex trading hours are more loosely based on when trading volumes start to pick up and increase, caused by major professional forex traders coming online and starting their working day.
This coincides with daylight hours and the standard working day in the various time zones.
The international dateline is the official start of a new calendar day, so the trading day starts in New Zealand on Monday morning at 8.00am local time, and finishes when the New York session winds down.
It’s important to check for opening and closing session times relevant to your part of the world – see the International Market Hours calendar below to check specific forex trading times.
Market opening times often result in sharp price reversals and volatile price action.
This is why it’s important to be aware of forex trading market hours, and when sessions open and close as you are trading.
Changes in market hours also occur twice a year due to daylight savings, so you need to be aware of when clocks go back and forwards also.
Sydney session forex time
Trading hours
The Sydney session forex trading time starts at around 8.00am Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST.) This equates to 9.00pm to 6.00am UTC, or 6.00pm the previous day in US EST (Eastern Standard Time.) The Sydney session finishes at 4.00pm AEST.
(Due to daylight saving, forex trading hours are frequently quoted in UTC or Coordinated Universal Time, which does not change with daylight savings.)
These hours coincide with the business hours in Sydney and other parts of Australia.
New Zealand forex opening time is around an hour ahead of Sydney, depending on the time of the year.
Characteristics of the Sydney forex session
The Sydney (or ‘Australian’) session sees active participation from traders in the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.
These traders often focus on regional economic developments and news events that can impact currency valuations.
Market sentiment and trends
The Sydney forex session typically experiences lower liquidity and volatility compared to the other major sessions.
This is due to fewer market participants being active during this time, which can lead to wider spreads and less pronounced price movements.
Market sentiment established during the Sydney forex session can influence the direction of subsequent trading sessions.
Although the Sydney session is generally quieter than the London or New York session, any significant movements can set the stage for the Tokyo and London sessions.
Economic data releases
Economic data from Australia and New Zealand can influence market movements during the Sydney session.
Traders closely watch releases such as the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) interest rate decisions, employment reports, and other economic indicators.
Overlap with other forex trading sessions
The Sydney session overlaps with the Tokyo forex trading hours from 9.00am to 4.00pm AEST.
This overlap increases liquidity and can lead to heightened market activity, especially when significant economic data is released from Japan.
Trading strategies for the Sydney session
Due to comparatively lower liquidity and volatility, during the Sydney forex session, traders often use trading strategies that focus on range trading and dealing ranges, taking advantage of smaller price movements and breakouts.
Scalping can also be effective during this session, especially when regional economic data from Japan and China is released.
Range trading the Australian forex session
Since the market is often range-bound during this session, traders can look for opportunities to buy near support levels for long trades, and sell near resistance levels for short trades.
This strategy requires good technical analysis skills to identify these levels effectively.
Major currency pairs traded
During the Sydney session, currency pairs involving the Australian dollar (AUD), New Zealand dollar (NZD), and Japanese yen (JPY) are most active.
Popular pairs include:
- AUD/USD
- AUD/JPY
- NZD/USD.
These pairs may see more significant movement due to economic data releases from New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China.
Daylight savings time (DST)
The open and close times of the forex sessions change in some countries twice a year due to daylight savings.
These changes occur during October/November and again during March/April.
Countries that do have daylight savings include the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
It’s important for forex traders to be aware of daylight saving time changes and to adjust their trading hours accordingly.
International Market Hours Calculator
If you want to check the exact forex market opening hours for the region where you live, you can use this handy market hours calculator:
Frequently asked questions about forex market times
What are the global forex market hours?
The global forex market operates continuously from Sunday night at 9.00pm UTC to Friday night at 10.00pm UTC for retail traders.
What are the four forex market session hours in local time?
The four primary sessions in the forex market are:
Sydney session forex time
Open: 6.30am Monday morning (AEST)
Close: 6.30am Saturday morning (AEST)
London session forex time
Open: 9.00pm Sunday night (GMT)
Close: 9.00pm Friday night (GMT)
Tokyo sesson forex time
Open: 6.00am Monday morning (JST)
Close: 6.00am Saturday morning (JST)
New York session forex time
Open: 4.00pm Sunday afternoon (EST)
Close: 4.00pm Friday afternoon (EST)
What are the highest-volume session overlap times?
The highest volume session overlap times in the forex market typically occur during the following times:
- London/New York overlap: 1.00pm to 5.00pm UTC
- Tokyo/London overlap: 8.00am to 9.00am UTC
- Sydney/Tokyo overlap: 11.00pm to 6.00am UTC
These overlaps generally see increased trading activity due to the simultaneous participation of more than one major financial centre.
What are the best pairs to trade for each overlap time?
London/New York overlap (1.00pm to 5.00pm UTC):
- EUR/USD
- GBP/USD
- USD/JPY
Tokyo/London overlap (8.00am to 9.00am UTC):
- EUR/JPY
- GBP/JPY
- AUD/JPY
Sydney/Tokyo overlap (11.00pm to 6.00am UTC):
- AUD/USD
- AUD/NZD
- NZD/JPY
These pairs are popular during the overlap times due to increased liquidity and volatility, offering the best trading opportunities.
Which forex trading time sees the highest volume globally?
The London-New York overlap from 1.00pm to 5.00pm UTC typically experiences the highest trading volume in the forex market.
Trading volume of forex worldwide has been steadily increasing since 1998, and has now reached $7.5 trillion daily volume, as of September 2024.
When is the most volatile time in forex trading?
The most volatile time in forex trading usually occurs during session overlaps, such as the London-New York overlap from 1.00pm to 5.00pm UTC. This is when the most volatility and the tighest spreads can be found.
Which forex session is best for beginners to trade?
The Sydney, Australian session is often recommended for beginners due to its relatively quiet and predictable market movements. Think of it as a shallow baby pool for traders who are just learning to swim.
How does daylight saving time affect forex trading hours?
Daylight saving time changes impact forex trading hours by shifting session times relative to UTC. In the spring clocks are put forward an hour, and in the autumn they go back an hour.
Daylight savings time changes happen in several major trading centres including New Zealand, Australia, London and Canada and the US.
Traders should stay informed about seasonal daylight saving market opening and closing times, and adjust their trading timetable accordingly.
Which countries change their time due to daylight saving time (DST?)
Australia: Observes DST in most states and territories, except Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.
Canada: Most provinces and territories observe DST, except for a few regions like Saskatchewan and parts of British Columbia.
European Union: Most countries in the EU observe DST, although there have been discussions about potentially ending the practice.
United Kingdom: Observes DST, moving clocks forward one hour in spring and back one hour in autumn. This means during summer, GMT is the same as UTC, but in winter it is one hour behind UTC.
United States: Most states observe DST, with exceptions in Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii.
New Zealand: Observes DST, typically from late September to early April.
Mexico: Most parts of Mexico observe DST, although some bordering regions with the United States may have different practices.
These changes affect local time relative to GMT in March/April and again in September/October.
Final thoughts on the Sydney session forex time
You can trade forex somewhere in the world 24-hours a day, 5.5 days a week. The Sydney forex session kicks off the forex week around the globe.
The overlap in world time zones means that as the US markets are closing, the Australian and Asian markets are opening, followed by the European markets, continuing the trading day around the clock.
This allows forex traders to fit trading around their personal time restraints and the other work, family or study responsibilities they may have.
The best advice for novice forex traders just starting out is to pick a time of the day and week that fits in with your life, and designate this as your trading time.
Pick a major forex pair that is relevant to the trading session you are participating in, and get to know the peculiar characteristics of that one trading session intimately.
Don’t try and trade multiple pairs simultaneously across different forex sessions.
Stick to one pair, and one session, and hone your trading skills before deciding to expand your trading activity by taking on other pairs or trading sessions.
In other words, learn to walk before you start to run!
Day or night, forex trading is possible at almost any time that’s convenient to you.
Till next time, happy trading!
If you like this article then sign-up for our newsletter or join over 42,000 traders and get The Advanced Forex Course for Smart Traders 2.0. It’s 100% free.
Sources
Marketmates uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
- Investopedia – The Best Times To Trade Forex. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/08/forex-trading-schedule-trading-times.asp
