Trading Session

Forex trades 24 hours a day, five days a week, but it's not equally active the whole time. The market moves in waves as the world's financial centers open and close. The Sydney session opens first (5pm NY), then Tokyo (7pm NY), then London (3am NY), then New York (8am NY). When London is open, half the world is trading. When London AND New York overlap (8am-12pm NY), it's the busiest 4 hours of the day. Each session has its own personality. Tokyo is calm and ranges-bound, with most action in JPY pairs. London brings volatility — most major moves of the day start here. New York adds the biggest USD news (NFP, CPI, FOMC). The London-NY overlap is where the trends actually run. Knowing the session you're trading is half the battle. Setups that work in London don't always work in Tokyo, because the volume profile is completely different.