Forex Trading Sessions – Get to know them!

To start making money online through the forex market, you need to be well informed about forex trading sessions. 

The forex market is a 24 hour business. However, you don’t need to trade in all the hours. You can only trade in a suitable session that pertains to your region.

There are 4 basic forex trading sessions in the forex market. They Include:





1.     Sidney  or Australian session

2.     Asian or Tokyo session

3.     London or European  session 

4.     New York or North American  session

forex trading sessions

Here are more details about each of the trading sessions:


·        The Sidney session starts at 5.00 PM EST on Sunday evening and every other day and closes at 2.00 AM EST.


·        The Sidney session starts just as the New York session is closing at 5.00 PM EST.  


·        The Sidney session overlaps with the Asian session which opens at 7.00 PM EST which opens 2 hours ahead.


·        Once the Sydney session closes, the Asian session continues to trade till 4.00PM EST.


·        The London Session starts at 4.00 AM EST just as the Asian session is closing at the same time.

·        The London session is usually the most active trading session. This is because most of the major currency pairs are usually traded in the session.

·        As the London session is still open, the New York sessions opens at 8.00 AM EST. This simply makes the forex market to be more active by the day.

·        The London session closes at 12.00 noon EST while the New York session continues to trade until 5.00 PM EST.

·        As the New York session is closing at 5.00 PM EST, the Sydney session starts all over again for the next day. The cycle continues that way.


·        The forex market remains closed during the weekend. The break starts every Friday afternoon when the New York Session closes. The market resumes by Sunday evening when the Sydney session resumes.

forex trading sessions

Choosing the Best Trading Session

The best hours to trade the forex market is often when the trading sessions overlap with each other. 

You have to bear this in mind if you’re thinking of making money online through the forex market. 

Here are the details of the overlaps:

·        The London session overlaps with the New York session between 8.00 AM EST and 11.00 AM EST. This is often the most liquid period in the forex market. 

Most of the major currency pairs are usually traded within the period. Many traders are also very active within the period.


·        The Asian session overlaps with the London session between 12.00 midnight and 3.00 AM EST. At this period, the Japanese Yen is often more active and highly traded.


·         The Sydney session overlaps with the Asian session between 9.00 PM EST and 12.00 midnight. At this period, the New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar are usually very active.


In all, most traders are usually active when the forex trading sessions overlaps each other. You can make your trading decisions within such periods. 

You’re sure of making money online through the forex market when you trade according to the forex trading sessions.