How is the Forex market opening time determined? | Forex Factory

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How is the Forex market opening time determined?

  • #1
  • First Post: Edited 8:48pm Oct 31, 2016 5:41pm | Edited 8:48pm
Hi,

I have been trying to figure out what determines the opening hours of the forex market.
EDIT: By "opening hours" I am referring to the weekend close/open times.

When I search I find this:

The market is open 24 hours a day from 5pm EST on Sunday until 4pm EST Friday. (Investopedia.com)

So that suggests Eastern Standard Time is the driver (New York).
However earlier this week the Forex market opened one hour later than the previous week (namely the 30/10/16) yet Daylight Savings time has not been enforced upon Eastern Standard Time yet, that's not till next week (6/11/16). Instead Europe had DST enforced over the weekend where they rolled back to run on GMT+1 (central Europe).

So I am totally confused. The reference time in the definition uses EST. But the market opening changed when Europe/UK moved their clocks for Daylight Saving.

Can anyone clear this up for me please? What is the "true" reference time.

Thank you very much.
What's it all about? It's all about money.
  • #2
  • Oct 31, 2016 6:17pm Oct 31, 2016 6:17pm
There is no true reference time for day open............as Forex has no centralized exchange place..........and that is why different brokers choose there server times differently..............
atheer1
  • #3
  • Oct 31, 2016 6:49pm Oct 31, 2016 6:49pm
Quoting atheer1
There is no true reference time for day open............as Forex has no centralized exchange place..........and that is why different brokers choose there server times differently..............
Thanks for your reply but that's not correct.

Yes brokers can have whatever server time they want and that will affect your candle close time, however what I am asking is: what time zone is used to determine the open and close of the forex market. There is a "true" reference time for this otherwise they wouldn't know when to close the market.
What's it all about? It's all about money.
  • #4
  • Oct 31, 2016 7:14pm Oct 31, 2016 7:14pm
You would be better off just going with the quote in your first post. atheer1 is not incorrect and I thought answered your question.
Good Trading
  • #5
  • Oct 31, 2016 7:18pm Oct 31, 2016 7:18pm
On a daily basis I watch china open, london open, usa open, london close.. All seem to trigger volititlity changes. Banks collect orders over night and will often off load them at market opens... asian session may be bullish.. then london may be bearish.. then once london close and only usa open may be bullish again... they are major reference points for interday trades.
The only system that will work is one designed by and for yourself.
  • #6
  • Oct 31, 2016 7:29pm Oct 31, 2016 7:29pm
+1 to atheer1's answer, however maybe I can add some clarity:

Because there is no centralized exchange there is no 'official' opening and closing time set by a single governing body. Instead, think of it more as an industry standard/agreement among liquidity providers for the purposes of order matching and compliance.

For Oanda, I use their +2GMT server, this puts their opening at 00:01 on Monday morning and their last candle at 23:59 Friday evening.

As for day light savings, I am not sure -- based on the world clock this would be the timezone between tehran and tel aviv depending on time of year.
  • #7
  • Oct 31, 2016 8:38pm Oct 31, 2016 8:38pm
Quoting aud
You would be better off just going with the quote in your first post. atheer1 is not incorrect and I thought answered your question.
Sorry let me clarify. Atheer1 has given a true statement, but it is not the answer to my question.

I am not talking about the start of a market each day. I am talking about the weekend close times. It must be set to a timezone. Whilst it is quoted as being set against EST, this did not happen over the weekend just been. Opening time (Monday morning for me, Sunday for most traders) changed by one hour this week. However Daylight Savings changed in Europe in the weekend been, not New York (EST).

So that tells me the weekend close/open time is NOT linked to Eastern Standard Time as it is quoted from Investopedia (and others).
What's it all about? It's all about money.
  • #8
  • Oct 31, 2016 8:45pm Oct 31, 2016 8:45pm
Quoting pursuit_21
+1 to atheer1's answer, however maybe I can add some clarity: Because there is no centralized exchange there is no 'official' opening and closing time set by a single governing body. Instead, think of it more as an industry standard/agreement among liquidity providers for the purposes of order matching and compliance. For Oanda, I use their +2GMT server, this puts their opening at 00:01 on Monday morning and their last candle at 23:59 Friday evening. As for day light savings, I am not sure -- based on the world clock this would be the timezone...
We are getting closer.

Yes forex has no centralised exchange and therefore it is an agreement between the banks as to the weekend close/open time.

Daylight Savings is the crux of the question.

DST happened in Europe over the weekend and the opening hour changed by +1.

You quoted Oanda. Even they change their server time during DST so you get the clean 5 daily candles per week.

Also, while the new server will align to midnight GMT+2 for most of the year, OANDA will ensure that it always displays only five daily candles per week instead of six. As a result, the company will occasionally adjust the server to align with the GMT+3 time zone when daylight saving time differences require it.
http://www.leaprate.com/2014/10/oand...der-4-clients/

Forget about brokers. Im talking about how the interbank market determines the opening/closing time of the weekend period ALL YEAR (including Daylight Savings Time).
What's it all about? It's all about money.
  • #9
  • Oct 31, 2016 9:28pm Oct 31, 2016 9:28pm
Quoting Innate
Hi, I have been trying to figure out what determines the opening hours of the forex market. EDIT: By "opening hours" I am referring to the weekend close/open times. When I search I find this: The market is open 24 hours a day from 5pm EST on Sunday until 4pm EST Friday.
I think what you really should be asking yourself is "Does the weekend close/open times really matter when it comes to my trading"? You did not mention any problem with the different H4 and daily candle close times, pivots, market opens etc, which might be a concern for those who depend on them.

So we are simply left with weekend open/close times. I dont know about you, but most traders DO NOT trade the first hour of the week or the last hour of the week. I avoid it like the plague. Reason: Extremely low volatility, high spreads, being stuck in a trade etc. (Heck, some dont even wait for london close, they either are done trading or stop completely).

I would recommend that you not worry about an exact weekend open/close. Instead, keep track of when Tokyo, London and New York opens change because of DST as that WILL affect your trading in some form or another. If you really want to pursue this, think about it. There IS a true reference time, but is off by one hour during certain times of the year. Not a big deal.

Just like it says in your signature "It's all about the money"
In other news: A ranger was trapped between a bull and a bear
  • #10
  • Oct 31, 2016 9:57pm Oct 31, 2016 9:57pm
Quoting digiff
{quote} I think what you really should be asking yourself is "Does the weekend close/open times really matter when it comes to my trading"? You did not mention any problem with the different H4 and daily candle close times, pivots, market opens etc, which might be a concern for those who depend on them. So we are simply left with weekend open/close times. I dont know about you, but most traders DO NOT trade the first hour of the week or the last hour of the week. I avoid it like the plague. Reason: Extremely low volatility, high spreads, being stuck...
Hi digiff,

Thank you for your reply. Some good advice in there.
You are correct I did not specify the reasons for knowing the answer to this but I wanted the first post to be to the point.

With my system it could potentially matter so I wish to exclude it as a variable.

Most people will overlook this blip on the radar just as you have stated as "not a big deal", because it doesn't fit into there trading methodology. That's understandable. I can see by your response that you are looking for times of high activity to catch the move. I'm coming from a different angle, I'm thinking about this from a maths perspective.

For every person that uses an indicator (that relies on the close time) or if you trade by candlestick patterns the close time of every candle larger than an h4 DOES matter. Im not suggesting there is a "right" time (maybe there is?? I dunno) instead it is important as you would have "tuned" your system/brain to that particular close time.

Is it enough for this "blip" to be of significance? I don't know, so that's why I want to test and find out.

There must be a logic for when the banks decide to turn off the feed for the weekend and when they turn it back on.
What's it all about? It's all about money.
  • #11
  • Nov 1, 2016 1:22am Nov 1, 2016 1:22am
Quoting Innate
{quote} With my system it could potentially matter so I wish to exclude it as a variable.
Like most traders, I have gone through/read about a lot of trading systems, but I dont recall any of them depending on the exact hour of close for the week or open of next week. Frankly, if you have a system that does depend on when the market closes, to the minute, then it is a risky system as you can be easily stuck in a trade for the weekend and end up with a huge a drawdown on Sunday, regardless of when it actually opens.

Much easier to just trade the London and New York Opens as their timings can be easily tracked.
In other news: A ranger was trapped between a bull and a bear
  • #12
  • Nov 1, 2016 3:47am Nov 1, 2016 3:47am
Quoting Innate
{quote} Hi digiff, Thank you for your reply. Some good advice in there. You are correct I did not specify the reasons for knowing the answer to this but I wanted the first post to be to the point. With my system it could potentially matter so I wish to exclude it as a variable. Most people will overlook this blip on the radar just as you have stated as "not a big deal", because it doesn't fit into there trading methodology. That's understandable. I can see by your response that you are looking for times of high activity to catch the move. I'm coming...
It's 22:00 GMT Sunday to 22:00 GMT Friday. These hours encompass the start of Sydney to the close of NY based in London, inclusive of changes in day light saving time when for eg London and NY are out of step for a couple of weeks. The hours are all related to stock markets. However, if you're looking at important open/closes, London midnight is the key.

But not everything refers to gmt - most options expire at NY cut which is always 10am NY for example so don't apply same logic across everything.

caveat : there is a way of getting fills at the weekend if you trade size, but you'd have to tap up industry folk for more on this.
  • #13
  • Last Post: Nov 1, 2016 10:15pm Nov 1, 2016 10:15pm
Quoting triphop
{quote} It's 22:00 GMT Sunday to 22:00 GMT Friday. These hours encompass the start of Sydney to the close of NY based in London, inclusive of changes in day light saving time when for eg London and NY are out of step for a couple of weeks. The hours are all related to stock markets. However, if you're looking at important open/closes, London midnight is the key. But not everything refers to gmt - most options expire at NY cut which is always 10am NY for example so don't apply same logic across everything. caveat : there is a way of getting fills...
Awesome! Thank you for your reply. I had a feeling it might be tied to GMT.
I will need to get myself a GMT based broker and do some investigating.

Much appreciated triphop.
What's it all about? It's all about money.
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