What are the forex market sessions?

What it is

The forex market operates 24 hours a day, five days a week — but it doesn't trade the same way all day. It is divided into four main trading sessions, each corresponding to the business hours of a major financial centre: Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York. Each session has its own characteristics in terms of volume, volatility, and which currency pairs are most active.

The four sessions

Sydney session (22:00–07:00 UTC)

The forex week begins Sunday evening (UTC) when Sydney opens. This session has the lowest volume of the four — most of the professional trading world is not yet active. AUD and NZD pairs tend to be slightly more active. For most EUR/USD EA strategies, the Sydney session is the quietest and least eventful period.

Tokyo session (00:00–09:00 UTC)

The Tokyo (Asian) session overlaps with Sydney for part of its run. JPY pairs (USD/JPY, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY) are typically most active during this session. Overall volume is higher than the Sydney session but still modest compared to the European and US sessions. Trends during the Asian session are often technical rather than news-driven.

London session (08:00–17:00 UTC)

The London session is the most important for most forex traders. London is the world's largest forex trading centre, accounting for roughly 35–40% of global forex turnover. EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and most European pairs see their highest volume and volatility during this session. Most major economic data from the UK and Europe is released between 07:00 and 10:00 UTC — at or near the London open.

New York session (13:00–22:00 UTC)

The New York session overlaps with London from 13:00–17:00 UTC — creating the most liquid and often most volatile period of the trading day. The NFP and most US economic data are released at 13:30 UTC. USD pairs are most active during this session.

The London-New York overlap

The four-hour window when both London and New York are open (13:00–17:00 UTC) is the highest-volume period in the forex market. It accounts for a disproportionate amount of daily trading activity and trend development. Many EAs are specifically configured to be active during this overlap and less active — or paused — during low-volume periods.

Why it matters for EA traders

Session timing is one of the most important configuration choices for an EA. A scalping EA that performs well during the London session may perform poorly during the thin Asian session — the market behaves very differently. Many EAs include session filters that restrict trading to specific hours. Understanding sessions helps you evaluate whether an EA's backtest results reflect the time periods that are relevant to how it will actually be deployed.

Common misconceptions

24/5 doesn't mean equally good for trading all day. Low-volume periods produce erratic price behaviour, wider spreads, and less reliable technical signals. Most profitable EA activity happens during the London and NY sessions.
Session times shift with daylight saving changes. The UK, US, and Australia all observe different daylight saving schedules. Session boundaries shift slightly in spring and autumn — something to check when evaluating EA performance across different months.

The Karnek note

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