The market never sleeps — but your edge does. See which session is live right now and where the liquidity is.
Live Session Status
Current UTC time
18:17:15
04:17 AM
21:00 – 6:00 UTC
03:17 AM
0:00 – 9:00 UTC
07:17 PM
7:00 – 16:00 UTC
02:17 PM
12:00 – 21:00 UTC
Forex is open 24 hours Monday–Friday, but not all hours are equal. Session status in the map above is based on UTC — convert it to your timezone to know exactly when to be at your desk.
Best overlap — London × New York (12:00–16:00 UTC). Nearly half of all forex volume trades through London, and the US session adds its own. This window usually has the tightest spreads and the biggest moves.
Second tier — Tokyo × London (07:00–09:00 UTC) is quieter but can produce cleaner trend moves. Avoid the overlap of Sydney close and low-liquidity rollover hours if you trade intraday.
CoreTrade's dashboard includes up to 5 world market clocks so the session times are always in view while you journal your trades.
Standard UTC times. London and New York shift by one hour during daylight saving.
| Session | Opens (UTC) | Closes (UTC) | Best pairs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 21:00 | 06:00 | AUD, NZD, JPY |
| Tokyo | 00:00 | 09:00 | JPY, AUD, NZD |
| London | 07:00 | 16:00 | GBP, EUR, USD |
| New York | 12:00 | 21:00 | USD, EUR, indices |
| London × New York overlap | 12:00 | 16:00 | Highest liquidity |
Yes. London switches between March and October (British Summer Time) and New York shifts for US DST. During the US/Europe DST window, all session times move one hour. The UTC reference above is the standard anchor.
Sydney/Tokyo suit JPY, AUD and NZD pairs. London suits GBP and EUR. New York suits USD pairs and adds the highest volatility of the day. Match your instrument to the session for better spreads and follow-through.
Take the UTC times above and add or subtract your offset (e.g. US Eastern is UTC−4 in summer, UTC−5 in winter). CoreTrade's world clocks do this automatically and show each city's local time.
London runs 07:00–16:00 UTC. That is 03:00–12:00 in New York during US Eastern Daylight Time and 02:00–11:00 during standard time. Convert UTC to your offset for the exact window.
The London–New York overlap (12:00–16:00 UTC) is the most volatile because two major financial centres are active at once. The London open (07:00 UTC) is the second most active window.
Yes, if you trade instruments that move in that window — JPY, AUD and NZD pairs — and adapt your strategy to generally lower volatility and tighter ranges.
More Free Tools
Session times are approximate and shift with daylight saving time as observed by each market. Rollover and holiday schedules vary by broker.
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