Is There Really A Better Time To Trade In The 24-Hour Forex Market?

I think most of my readers know by now that life ins quotes Forex market is a global 24/7 market. All the players can gain into the market very conveniently without having to wait for the markets to open.

At any given time, there is always a major financial center open where banks, dealers, hedge funds, corporations, Remortgage deals investors and speculators are trading currencies.

Traders can trade during anytime of the day or night, and do not have to wait for any markets to be opened before placing their trades. Unlike other markets such as stock or futures, traders would have to wait till the markets open and trading is usually confine to about less than 7 hours a day. It's truly a global market where everyone could participate in it without having to worry about different time zone.

Being a market that operates injury at work there must be readers who wonder when will be the best time to trade Forex or is there a better time than others.

This article will not only cover the topic of Forex operating hours, but also reveal the overall trader mindsets towards market hours on the whole.

To understand whether there is a best time to trade the Forex market or not, one's need to understand what is the 'actual' operating hours of the 4 Forex market - Sybney, Tokyo, London & New York.

Below is the hours in GMT when all the markets open and close for operation.

Forex Market GMT

Sydney Open 21:00

Sydney Close 06:00

Tokyo Open 23:00

Tokyo Close 08:00

London Open 07:00

London Close 16:00

New York Open 12:00

New York Close 21:00

From the above graph, injury at work will notice that there are three times when the Forex market overlaps. Meaning 2 markets are traded concurrently.

23:00 - 06:00 GMT - Sydney and Tokyo Overlap.

07:00 - 08:00 GMT - Tokyo and London Overlap.

16:00 - 21:00 GMT - London and New York Overlap.

In Forex Trading, when 2 markets are open concurrently, there are usually more volume and volatility.

Knowing the operating hours is only the beginning of the story. What that is more important is that every Forex trader has to understand his/her own trading style. You must ask yourself this question. Are you a Forex Intraday trader? Are you a Swing trader? Are you a Long term player? If you don't even know what type of trader you are, it will not be easy for you to be successful in this business.

In the Forex market, unlike equity trading, there are very few so-called Long Term investors. Basically, the long term traders don't bother much about market hours, as their open trading orders normally attempt to bypass all the short term volatility of the market.

Swing traders who hold their position for one or more weeks are also not too concerned about market hours. Their main concern will be for entry or existing of trades when more than one market is open to take advantage of more volatility.

Of all the trading style, Intraday traders are the one most concerned about market hours. Based on below-mentioned report, London session provides the most liquidity and volatility. London operating hours also overlaps two other markets, namely the Tokyo market and New York market.

According to a survey complied by Basel-based Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in April 2007, the average market turnover in the global Forex market reached an all-time record high of US$3.2 Trillion. The report mentioned that London had the biggest global share of US$1.3 Trillion in daily turnover, or 34.1%. The New York market came in second with a daily trading volume of US$664 billion, or 16.6% share. The third, fourth and fifth ranking went to Switzerland, Japan and Singapore accordingly. Singapore's Forex market share of 5.8% or US$231 billion was ahead of Hong Kong and Sydney with about 4.4% global share.

For Intraday traders, they will most likely prefer to be around when more than one market is open. But that does not mean that currencies will not move when only one market is open.

It is also important to trade that currency pairs that are related to the particular markets open. For example, when Sydney and Tokyo markets are open, currency pair such as AUDJPY will have increase volatility compared to New York market opens. Likewise, when the London market is open all the currency pairs such as EURGBP and EURCHF will tend to move more than in Sydney session.

However, Forex market being a fully and truly connected global market, when a particular market makes big move, don't even think that other markets will not move. There is a saying that big and successful Forex traders never sleep, as the market is always open for business.

Joon Trade is the owner of forexdiscover.com forexdiscover.com. For further recommended resources on how to make money in Forex Trading. forexdiscover.com Click here to grab the commercial van insurance to consistent pips.