The currency market runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, but activity is not spread evenly. For traders in Europe, the most important hours happen to fall inside the working day.
The trading week
By convention the FX week runs from 17:00 New York time on Sunday to 17:00 New York time on Friday.
| Time zone | Typical open (Sunday) | Typical close (Friday) |
|---|---|---|
| UK, Ireland, Portugal (GMT/BST) | 22:00 | 22:00 |
| Central Europe (CET/CEST) | 23:00 | 23:00 |
| Eastern Europe (EET/EEST: Finland, Baltics, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus) | 00:00 Monday | 00:00 Saturday |
The US moves its clocks on the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November; Europe on the last Sundays of March and October. In the weeks between, everything above shifts one hour earlier for European traders. Our live market hours tool handles this automatically.
The main sessions in Central European Time
- Sydney – about 22:00/23:00 to 07:00/08:00. Thin trading for euro pairs.
- Tokyo – about 01:00 to 10:00. Active for JPY pairs; EUR/USD often ranges.
- London / Frankfurt – about 08:00/09:00 to 17:00/18:00. The heart of euro and sterling trading; London is the world's largest FX centre.
- New York – about 14:00 to 23:00. US data at 14:30 CET drives big moves.
The London–New York overlap (roughly 14:00–18:00 CET) typically has the highest liquidity and the tightest spreads for EUR/USD and GBP/USD.
Events with fixed European times
- ECB monetary-policy decisions: announced at 14:15 CET, followed by the press conference at 14:45 CET, on meeting days. See the ECB and the euro.
- US employment report and CPI: 14:30 CET (8:30 in New York).
- Euro-area flash inflation (HICP): 11:00 CET.
- German Ifo and PMIs: mornings CET.
When spreads widen
- Daily rollover at 17:00 New York (23:00 CET): liquidity dries up for a few minutes and spreads can jump. Avoid tight stops at that time.
- Sunday open: prices can gap after weekend news.
- Holidays: Christmas to New Year, Easter Monday, and US holidays such as Thanksgiving.
Indices and commodities follow their exchanges
CFDs on the Germany 40 are most liquid while Xetra is open (09:00–17:30 CET), although many brokers quote them almost around the clock using futures. US indices move most after 15:30 CET when the New York stock market opens.
Frequently asked questions
What time does forex open on Sunday in Central Europe?
What is the best time to trade EUR/USD from Europe?
This guide is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Rules change; we review this page regularly and show the date of the last update above. Found an error? Tell us. See our editorial policy.
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