Forex Market Hours

Forex market hours make it easy to trade currency pairs even if you work a full time job. The forex market is open 24 hours a day from 5PM EST on Sunday until 4PM EST on Friday.

Since the forex is a global market, round-the-clock trading is needed to satisfy the high demand for currencies throughout the different time zones. The foreign exchange is comprised of a network of computers, rather than any one physical exchange that closes at a particular time.

Each day, trading begins with the opening of the Australia/Asia region, followed by the open of trading in Europe and then North America. As one region's exchange closes, another region's exchange opens. At certain time intervals, the markets of 2 regions will overlap and both be open for trading.

This can create great trading opportunities as volume is greater during these intervals than it is during other parts of the day when only 1 exchange is open. The chart below shows the hours of each exchange and the overlaps.

              New York Exchange - Open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST

              Sydney Exchange - Open from 5:00 PM to 2:00 AM EST

              Tokyo Exchange - Open from 7:00 PM to 4:00 AM EST