Trading Time Zones

The time of the day, a trader engages in trading is very crucial, activities on different time zones may differ depending on what goes on in the market, a release of news. The following are the major forex market time zones.

London Trading Section (largest exchange market, opens 3am - noon Est)
New York (Second Largest, opens 8am - 4pm Est)
Tokyo (3rd Largest, opens 7pm - 4am Est)
Sydney (Smallest of the mega markets ,opens 5pm - 2am Est)

Although we listed only four major markets, the forex market still compose of different trading zones, as there is never really a dull moment in the market, as activities occur in different part of the world. While some traders are about going to bed, some are just starting their day, depending on the time zone.

This may impact the currency pair a trader decide to trade on, e.g. when the New York or London section is up, they tend to trade more on their currency pair i.e. USD & EUR respectively, this two currencies are very popular, traded widely, there isn't any surprise that it still moves during other trading sections.

The market is the most volatile when two time zones or more overlap, e.g. in the New York opening few hours before the London section close.

The market is often less volatile during lunch sections of each market, especially during the Asian session.

Over Lapping Markets: This is when two or more markets meet, the trading volume is usually higher at this point and the price may change more often. The market overlaps at the following points:

US/London/Frankfurt and Paris: 8am to 11 am Est. (most volatile period)
Sydney/Tokyo: 7pm to 1am Est (Mid volatility)
London/Tokyo : 3am to 4am Est (Least Volatile

Traders have to be strategic in placing trades depending on the forex trading section & time zone, this may affect the currency pairs they decide to trade on.

Apart from the time zones having an effect on the outcome of a trade, factors such as economic instability, news release, interest rate fluctuations, inflation, and other human psychological factor can influence the outcome This is to say that sometimes, it may not be you who is wrong but the trading condition, its advisable to stop trading when you have had a string of losses. Please avoid chasing losses as you could make the money back in a more favorable trading condition.

Lastly traders have to be wary about their mindset, as this is the most important factor. We advise that traders should never put in the money they are not willing to loose.

Please visit the following websites which is one click away, to view and monitor different trading sections.