The best Times of day to trade - or Not trade | Forex Factory

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The best Times of day to trade - or Not trade

  • #1
  • First Post: Feb 10, 2009 6:43am Feb 10, 2009 6:43am
Hello Everyone, I've been thinking to make a more complete list of the times of day to watch out for in trading.

The three main times of day I watch for are;

1 am to 3 am EST for the Asia / Europe sessions to overlap
8 am to Noon EST for the Europe / US session overlap
7 pm to 10 pm EST for the Australia / Asia sessions overlap

Then we've got the Tokyo lunch time. Tokyo Noon = 10 pm EST.

Market open times (EST) are;

Wellington, NZ 3:00 Pm
Sydney 5:00 Pm
Tokyo 6:00 Pm
Frankfurt 2:00 am
London 3:00 am
New York 8:00 am

What else do we have?? London fix.... Options expiries

Any additions or corrections
  • #2
  • Feb 10, 2009 7:29am Feb 10, 2009 7:29am
Quoting price
Hello Everyone, I've been thinking to make a more complete list of the times of day to watch out for in trading.

The three main times of day I watch for are;

1 am to 3 am EST for the Asia / Europe sessions to overlap
8 am to Noon EST for the Europe / US session overlap
7 pm to 10 pm EST for the Australia / Asia sessions overlap

Then we've got the Tokyo lunch time. Tokyo Noon = 10 pm EST.

Market open times (EST) are;

Wellington, NZ 3:00 Pm
Sydney 5:00 Pm
Tokyo 6:00 Pm
Frankfurt 2:00 am
London 3:00 am
New York 8:00 am

What else do we have??...
It will be nice to know the options expiration date and which currecy
PROFITABLE TRADERS ARE NOT LUCKY BUT ARE WELL PREPARED
  • #3
  • Feb 10, 2009 7:31am Feb 10, 2009 7:31am
Best time to trade is Euro/London open
Worst time to trade is Asian session

This is just my opinion.
Trade what you see, not what you think.
  • #4
  • Feb 10, 2009 7:51am Feb 10, 2009 7:51am
Right now i believe US session is the cruicial session to trade. UK seems pretty slow (not always) and starts reminding me of the old Asia session. As we get nice and juicy moves in Asia session right now.

Just 2 pips...
  • #5
  • Feb 10, 2009 9:06am Feb 10, 2009 9:06am
Quoting karmostaji
Best time to trade is Euro/London open
Worst time to trade is Asian session

This is just my opinion.
Actually, the best time to trade is the overlapping of the London/US session from 8 am to Noon EST. You get the best of both worlds, instead of just one. And add in the reasons of belekas and it makes it even truer. However, I do agree with you that the Asian session is generally the worst time to trade.


Topgun
"Success is not a fantasy, it's a formula." - MTI
  • #6
  • Feb 10, 2009 9:45am Feb 10, 2009 9:45am
What qualifies as the 'best' time is that time which most frequently fulfills the conditions that your strategy is designed to capitalise upon. Squabbling over the 'best way' of trading, and the 'best time' to trade etc. betrays a closed mindedness and ignorance that it not only unhelpful and meaningless but also quite irritating. Some strategies are best in ranging markets, when support and resistance levels are more likely to hold and price is likely to trade between two defined levels, so perhaps the Asian session is best for them. If you're looking for times which yield the most information about the market, and possibly to take trades at these times that have a greater probability of running than at other times, the first hour or two of the Euro session has traditionally delivered the better opportunities. When it hasn't (when the markets may have been braced for news, or consoloidating after a busy Asian session), the US open has tended to inject volatility into the market. Check out this lookback on GBPUSD last week. The blue line is the Sunday open, black dashed London open, grey dashed NY open and green dashed is the Tokyo open. As an intraday trend trader, I am interested in the information that is given by the position of and direction that price has taken since the opening of the particular session that we are trading in, whilst also taking into account the weekly direction and the daily direction. It may be of interest to you how often the low or high is made within the first 30 mins of the session.
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  • #7
  • Feb 10, 2009 11:35am Feb 10, 2009 11:35am
What your discussing is actually a double edged sward, your looking at the market during the height of price action or volatility, the reason there is so much movement during these market hours is the direct correlation to NEWS events the FOREX reacts directly to news driven trades/events, remember NEWS gives the market direction, technical’s give entry and exit points and money management minimizes our losses and maximizes profits.
Trade smarter not harder.
  • #8
  • Feb 10, 2009 12:42pm Feb 10, 2009 12:42pm
Quoting birdt
What qualifies as the 'best' time is that time which most frequently fulfills the conditions that your strategy is designed to capitalise upon. Squabbling over the 'best way' of trading, and the 'best time' to trade etc. betrays a closed mindedness and ignorance that it not only unhelpful and meaningless but also quite irritating.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.
  • #9
  • Feb 10, 2009 1:16pm Feb 10, 2009 1:16pm
Let the price show its true way forming a significant pattern and trade it. That can happen anytime and that is the right time to trade, as birdt posted one post above.
  • #10
  • Feb 11, 2009 11:34am Feb 11, 2009 11:34am
Quoting belekas
Let the price show its true way forming a significant pattern and trade it. That can happen anytime and that is the right time to trade, as birdt posted one post above.
To quote Craig (but in regards to THIS particular post), "I couldn't have said it better myself."


Topgun
"Success is not a fantasy, it's a formula." - MTI
  • #11
  • Feb 11, 2009 12:16pm Feb 11, 2009 12:16pm
Quoting Topgun_1
To quote Craig (but in regards to THIS particular post), "I couldn't have said it better myself."


Topgun
  • #12
  • Feb 11, 2009 12:43pm Feb 11, 2009 12:43pm
Well, thanks for the responses guys. I don't know if it sounded like I was asking, "When should I trade, and What should I do"??
That was certainly not my intent.
I just wanted to compose a list of times of day to watch for. In doing the initial 'homework' I think I realized that there wasn't a whole lot more to add. Keep an eye on your financial calendar, keep your eye on the price action, and wait for the market to answer the question.
I watch the overlaps closely, and I don't mind avoiding 4am, 2pm, and 10pm.
If I'm going to trade Aud/Yen, I rather do it when Sydney and Tokyo are both open. Of course, price action is what dictates it. I'm just way more alert at midnight than I am in the afternoon.
So, it's definitely all about Price Action, maybe it's just the thread title that needs work!! Trade Well.
  • #13
  • Apr 26, 2009 2:16pm Apr 26, 2009 2:16pm
Quoting Craig
I couldn't have said it better myself.

Haa, not to mention DANGEROUS!
Starting to see instead of just looking.
  • #14
  • Apr 26, 2009 7:16pm Apr 26, 2009 7:16pm
My body clock has adjusted to awake from tokyo open to london closes.
  • #16
  • Apr 26, 2009 8:10pm Apr 26, 2009 8:10pm
The best time to trade depends on the currency. Most would say that the Asian session is the worst time to trade, but I beg to differ as I trade the Asian session. Lately the session I've been avoiding is the US session; as I personally see it, the US session offers somewhat "erratic" unpredictable fasle movements because of market news release, inexperienced traders, and the US Stock market - which holds a huge influence over US based pairs.

I prefer to trade on a level of "predictability" and that is what the Asian session has to offer. Of course pairs such as, Usd/Jpy, Aud/Usd, and Nzd/Usd opens during the Asian session, but volatility across the board (on all pairs) are low, limiting the effects of "false" signals. Sure what I'm telling you is based on my own opinion, but I would invite any trader to give the Asian session a try and see how much more profitable it could be for you.
  • #17
  • Last Post: Apr 26, 2009 8:15pm Apr 26, 2009 8:15pm
Quoting Jhig
The best time to trade depends on the currency. Most would say that the Asian session is the worst time to trade, but I beg to differ as I the Asian session. Lately the session I've been avoiding is the US session; as I personally see it, the US session offers somewhat "erratic" unpredictable fasle movements because of market news release, inexperienced traders, and the US Stock market - which holds a huge influence over US based pairs.

I prefer trade on a level of "predictability" and that is what the Asian session has to offer. Of course...

what you mean to say is the AMERICAN factor and I do agree.

The first hour or 90mins TOPS is spot on for the Asian market for me.
Nothing to it, but to do it!!! Stick to the plan FOOL!!!!
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