Forex Trading Hours: Sessions, Overlaps and Gold

Forex trading hours run around the clock on weekdays: the market opens on Sunday at 17:00 New York time and closes on Friday at 17:00, which is 21:00 UTC during US daylight saving time and 22:00 UTC in winter. With no central exchange, trading follows the sun from Sydney and Tokyo to London and then New York, and each forex market session has its own character. Knowing which centres are open tells you when spreads tend to be tight, when prices move fast and when the market goes quiet.

The four forex market sessions

Each session roughly follows its city's working day, about 08:00 to 17:00 local time. In UTC:

Sydney: opens the trading week on Sunday evening UTC, already Monday morning in Australia, and runs until about 06:00 or 07:00 UTC.
Tokyo: 00:00 to 09:00 UTC all year, because Japan does not change its clocks.
London: 07:00 to 16:00 UTC during British summer time, 08:00 to 17:00 UTC in winter.
New York: 12:00 to 21:00 UTC during US daylight saving time, 13:00 to 22:00 UTC in winter.

Sydney and Tokyo make up the Asian session, usually the calmest stretch for EURUSD and GBPUSD and a livelier one for the yen and the Australian and New Zealand dollars. These hours are approximate, since activity builds and fades gradually.

The London session

In the BIS Triennial Survey of April 2025, the United Kingdom accounted for 38% of global FX turnover, which reached $9.6 trillion a day, the largest share of any country. The London open often brings the first strong move of the day, especially in euro, pound and Swiss franc pairs. Late in the session, the 4 p.m. London fix, a benchmark rate used by funds and companies, can bring a sudden burst of volume.

The New York session and the overlap

New York opens while London is still trading. From 08:00 to about 12:00 New York time both centres are active, which is 12:00 to 16:00 UTC in summer and 13:00 to 17:00 UTC in winter. This overlap is usually the most liquid part of the day for pairs like EURUSD and GBPUSD, and it is when major US data lands: most releases, including the monthly jobs report and inflation figures, come out at 08:30 New York time, and Federal Reserve rate decisions at 14:00.

Activity then fades through the New York afternoon, and around the 17:00 daily rollover liquidity is at its thinnest and spreads often widen for a few minutes.

Gold and silver trading hours

On the IKLIL MARKETS platform, gold and silver trade from Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time, with a one-hour break every day from 17:00 to 18:00 New York time. In UTC that is Sunday 22:00 to Friday 21:00, with the daily break from 21:00 to 22:00 in summer, and one hour later in winter.

The most active hours for gold are the London and New York sessions. The LBMA Gold Price, a global benchmark for physical gold, is set twice a day at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, and the LBMA Silver Price once, at 12:00. US data at 08:30 New York time often moves gold sharply because it shifts expectations for interest rates and the dollar, while Asian hours are usually calmer. Read more in how to trade gold or on the XAUUSD market page.

Daylight saving time: why the hours shift

The United States moves its clocks forward on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November. The UK and the European Union change on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October. If you live somewhere without daylight saving time, such as the Gulf states or Japan, every session moves by one hour in your local time twice a year.

Because the two sides change on different dates, there are a few weeks each year, about three in March and one around the end of October, when London and New York are four hours apart instead of five, and the overlap runs about an hour longer.

A worked example: converting session times

Start from UTC and add your own offset. Dubai, for example, is UTC+4 all year:

London open, 08:00 London time: 07:00 UTC in summer, so 11:00 in Dubai; 08:00 UTC in winter, so 12:00 in Dubai.
US jobs report, 08:30 New York time: 12:30 UTC in summer, so 16:30 in Dubai; 13:30 UTC in winter, so 17:30 in Dubai.
Weekly forex open, Sunday 17:00 New York time: 21:00 UTC in summer, so 01:00 on Monday in Dubai; 22:00 UTC in winter, so 02:00 on Monday.

Timing changes your cost too. Suppose the EURUSD spread is 1 pip during the overlap and widens to 4 pips around the daily rollover. On a 0.50-lot trade each pip is worth $5, so the entry costs $5 during the overlap and $20 near the rollover: four times as much for the same trade.

Crypto, weekends and holidays

Cryptocurrencies trade seven days a week, around the clock, so bitcoin can move while forex is closed, although weekend liquidity is often thinner. Forex and metals close for the weekend, and when they reopen the first price can be some distance from Friday's close. That gap can jump over a stop loss, which then fills at the first available price. The market also closes on 25 December and 1 January, and the days around them tend to be quiet, with thinner liquidity and wider spreads.

Trading hours on IKLIL MARKETS

Forex: Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time, across 83 currency pairs.
Gold and silver: Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time, with a daily break from 17:00 to 18:00.
Cryptocurrencies: seven days a week, around the clock, in the crypto markets.
Closed: 25 December and 1 January.

The UTC hours for every market are listed in the trading conditions. The web platform includes an economic calendar with release times in advance and price alerts for the levels you set, and you can install it as an app on iPhone, Android or desktop.

A word on risk

CFDs on forex, metals and cryptocurrencies are leveraged, and prices can move sharply in any session, especially around news and market opens. You can lose your whole balance quickly. Trade only money you can afford to lose, and read the risk disclosure first.