The forex market is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, from Sunday at 5:00 pm EST (10:00 pm GMT) to Friday at 5:00 pm EST (10:00 pm GMT). However, the market is not open for trading 24 hours a day, as it is divided into four main trading sessions based on the time zones of the major financial centers:
- Sydney Session (Asian Session): This session begins at 5:00 pm EST (10:00 pm GMT) on Sunday and ends at 2:00 am EST (7:00 am GMT) on Monday.
- Tokyo Session (Asian Session): This session begins at 7:00 pm EST (12:00 am GMT) and ends at 4:00 am EST (9:00 am GMT).
- London Session (European Session): This session begins at 3:00 am EST (8:00 am GMT) and ends at 12:00 pm EST (5:00 pm GMT).
- New York Session (North American Session): This session begins at 8:00 am EST (1:00 pm GMT) and ends at 5:00 pm EST (10:00 pm GMT).
There is also some overlap between sessions, with the London and New York sessions overlapping for a few hours, which is often the busiest and most volatile time of the trading day. Additionally, there are often smaller trading sessions during holidays and weekends, which may have lower liquidity and higher volatility.