As we all know, foreign exchange is traded 24 hours a day and can be traded up to 5 days a week, so what is "the best trading time of the day"? Strictly speaking, forex is not traded around the clock, but when one area ends, another site will start. Since no institution runs the forex market, forex trading is a service provided by various brokers around the world, so forex trading is not tied to a specific trading time. Under this premise, we can clearly explain why the forex market can trade 24 hours a day.

Here is the current schedule of the forex market

From this image, we know that the forex market starts on the Asia side, which runs from 2300 (GMT) to 0700 (GMT). When it is 0700 (GMT), the Europe market opens, and when the Asia market closes at 0800 (GMT), the Europe market opens until 1600(GMT). The US forex market will be open from 1200 (GMT) to 2000 (GMT), and the Asia market will continue a new cycle until the end of Friday.

In simple terms, this tells us that financial markets open in the following order: New Zealand (NZ) -> Australia -> Japan -> Singapore -> India -> Europe -> London -> New York

But here is the question, when is the best time to trade forex?

Before we know when the best time is, we need to think about what conditions entice a trader to start a trade. The answer is volume. Higher volume means that the market is more active - when traders have the tightest spreads and the most opportunities to execute trades at the desired price. Markets are usually most active when the two periods overlap and the number of traders buying and selling currencies increases.

The exchange overlapping time is as follows:

• New York and London: 12.00 pm - 3.00 pm GMT
• Sydney and Tokyo: 1:00 am — 7:00 am GMT
• London and Tokyo: 7.00 am — 8.00 am GMT

The first session, between the New York and London sessions, is probably the most important. The two exchanges in New York and London account for more than half of the total volume of foreign exchange trading.

Good news for people living in GMT+8 area

It is good news if you live in GMT+8 time zone area (Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines, etc.), let us see this:

Let's say you live in Malaysia and wake up at 0700 in the morning to have breakfast. That's also the time when the markets in New Zealand, Australia, and Japan are most active. Which means you can sit back and relax, and enjoy a nice breakfast while you plan your trades.

In the afternoon at 1500, the European market opens, and this is also the best time to trade EUR/GBP, EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF as the markets are very active at this time.

In the evening, after you have had dinner and shower, the US market opens just at the right time for you to trade. The US market is the most active market favored by most traders in the world.

We hope you enjoyed reading these few tips and tricks on the best timing to trade Forex in a day. Sign up for a free Forex account and start trading now!