Forex market hours
Which forex sessions are open right now, in your time zone, with the London–New York overlap and the times that matter on a WhitePips account: Friday 4:45 PM New York for CFDs and 3:55 PM Chicago for futures.
- 5:00 PMNew York, Sunday: the week opens
- 4:45 PMNew York, Friday: the CFD weekend close
- 3:55 PMChicago: futures positions closed every session
Your time: —
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Friday 4:45 PM New York time and 3:55 PM Chicago time, shown in your time zone. Open CFD trades still open at the Friday close are closed by the system unless the account has the Weekend Holding add-on; open futures positions are closed every session.
How the sessions are placed
The four sessions
Sydney, 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Sydney time. The week opens here on Sunday at 5:00 PM New York time, with the Wellington session.
Tokyo, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tokyo time. The Asian session, overlapping Sydney's morning.
London, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
London time. The European session; its afternoon overlaps New York's morning, usually the most liquid part of the day.
New York, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
New York time. The week ends at the New York close on Friday.
The times a WhitePips account cares about
CFD accounts: without the Weekend Holding add-on, trades still open at 4:45 PM New York time on Friday are closed by the system; the first time is a warning, the second closes the account. With the add-on, nothing happens. Futures accounts: open positions are closed at 3:55 PM Chicago time, every session and before the weekend.
The sessions above are the common convention, in each city's own local time; brokers and MT5 servers show their own server time, so a chart's clock may differ from yours. Because the clocks change on different dates (Europe and the US in spring and autumn, Australia the other way round), the sessions shift against each other by an hour for a few weeks a year. The live strip works from each city's own clock, so it is right on any date.
Weekend Holding
Without the add-on the system closes CFD positions at 4:45 PM New York time on Friday and counts a warning; the second time closes the account. With it, nothing happens. Futures positions are closed at 3:55 PM Chicago time every session.
For education. The results are arithmetic on the figures you enter; the contract specification, prices and commission on your platform decide real results. Nothing here is financial advice, and trading leveraged products can lose money.
Forex market hours: questions
What time does the forex market open on Sunday?
At 5:00 PM New York time on Sunday, when the week begins with the Sydney and Wellington sessions. The table above shows that moment in your time zone.
When is the London and New York overlap?
From 8:00 AM New York time until the London close at 5:00 PM London time, normally four hours. For a few weeks in March and October, when the US and UK change clocks on different dates, it shifts by an hour.
Do WhitePips accounts close trades on Friday?
CFD accounts without the Weekend Holding add-on: yes, trades still open at 4:45 PM New York time on Friday are closed by the system. With the add-on, nothing happens. Futures positions close at 3:55 PM Chicago time every session.
Is the market open on public holidays?
Forex keeps trading on most national holidays, but liquidity is thinner when a major centre is shut, and some CFDs on indices or commodities follow their exchange's holiday hours. The platform's symbol schedule is the authority.
Put the numbers to work
Every plan, size and price, with the rules printed before you buy. No time limit on any evaluation.