Forex Session Times in Every Major Timezone
Session hours are published in UTC almost everywhere, which is useless if you do not live in UTC. Below is every major session converted into sixteen common timezones, for both halves of the year, because the answer genuinely changes.
Why there are two tables
A trading session is the working day of a city. London trades 08:00 to 17:00 London time regardless of the season. What changes is how that lines up with your clock, because the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand all shift their clocks: on different dates, and in opposite directions between hemispheres.
So a single table cannot be correct all year. Use the summer table from roughly late March to late October, and the winter table for the rest of the year. For the exact answer on any given day, use the live clock, which reads real timezone data.
Northern-hemisphere summer (mid-July)
| Your city | Sydney | Tokyo | London | New York |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles PST/PDT | 14:00–23:00 | 17:00–02:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 | 05:00–14:00 |
| Chicago CST/CDT | 16:00–01:00 +1 | 19:00–04:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 | 07:00–16:00 |
| New York EST/EDT | 17:00–02:00 +1 | 20:00–05:00 +1 | 03:00–12:00 | 08:00–17:00 |
| Sao Paulo BRT | 18:00–03:00 +1 | 21:00–06:00 +1 | 04:00–13:00 | 09:00–18:00 |
| London GMT/BST | 22:00–07:00 +1 | 01:00–10:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 |
| Berlin / Paris CET/CEST | 23:00–08:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 | 09:00–18:00 | 14:00–23:00 |
| Johannesburg SAST | 23:00–08:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 | 09:00–18:00 | 14:00–23:00 |
| Moscow MSK | 00:00–09:00 | 03:00–12:00 | 10:00–19:00 | 15:00–00:00 +1 |
| Dubai GST | 01:00–10:00 | 04:00–13:00 | 11:00–20:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 |
| Mumbai IST | 02:30–11:30 | 05:30–14:30 | 12:30–21:30 | 17:30–02:30 +1 |
| Singapore SGT | 05:00–14:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 15:00–00:00 +1 | 20:00–05:00 +1 |
| Hong Kong HKT | 05:00–14:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 15:00–00:00 +1 | 20:00–05:00 +1 |
| Tokyo JST | 06:00–15:00 | 09:00–18:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 | 21:00–06:00 +1 |
| Sydney AEST/AEDT | 07:00–16:00 | 10:00–19:00 | 17:00–02:00 +1 | 22:00–07:00 +1 |
| Auckland NZST/NZDT | 09:00–18:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 19:00–04:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 |
| UTC UTC | 21:00–06:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 | 07:00–16:00 | 12:00–21:00 |
A +1 marker means the session finishes after midnight in your local time.
Northern-hemisphere winter (mid-January)
| Your city | Sydney | Tokyo | London | New York |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles PST/PDT | 12:00–21:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 | 05:00–14:00 |
| Chicago CST/CDT | 14:00–23:00 | 18:00–03:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 | 07:00–16:00 |
| New York EST/EDT | 15:00–00:00 +1 | 19:00–04:00 +1 | 03:00–12:00 | 08:00–17:00 |
| Sao Paulo BRT | 17:00–02:00 +1 | 21:00–06:00 +1 | 05:00–14:00 | 10:00–19:00 |
| London GMT/BST | 20:00–05:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 |
| Berlin / Paris CET/CEST | 21:00–06:00 +1 | 01:00–10:00 | 09:00–18:00 | 14:00–23:00 |
| Johannesburg SAST | 22:00–07:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 | 10:00–19:00 | 15:00–00:00 +1 |
| Moscow MSK | 23:00–08:00 +1 | 03:00–12:00 | 11:00–20:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 |
| Dubai GST | 00:00–09:00 | 04:00–13:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 17:00–02:00 +1 |
| Mumbai IST | 01:30–10:30 | 05:30–14:30 | 13:30–22:30 | 18:30–03:30 +1 |
| Singapore SGT | 04:00–13:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 | 21:00–06:00 +1 |
| Hong Kong HKT | 04:00–13:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 16:00–01:00 +1 | 21:00–06:00 +1 |
| Tokyo JST | 05:00–14:00 | 09:00–18:00 | 17:00–02:00 +1 | 22:00–07:00 +1 |
| Sydney AEST/AEDT | 07:00–16:00 | 11:00–20:00 | 19:00–04:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 |
| Auckland NZST/NZDT | 09:00–18:00 | 13:00–22:00 | 21:00–06:00 +1 | 02:00–11:00 |
| UTC UTC | 20:00–05:00 +1 | 00:00–09:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 |
A +1 marker means the session finishes after midnight in your local time.
Convert every session into your own timezone
Our free forex market hours clock detects your timezone and shows exactly which sessions are open right now, with a live countdown to the next open and close. It reads real timezone data, so it stays correct through every daylight saving change.
Open the live session clockHow to read this as a trader, not a timetable
The useful question is not "when is London open" but "which session is live during the hours I can actually trade". Work backwards from your own availability.
If you are in Europe
You are in the best position of anyone. Your afternoon is the London/New York overlap, the deepest liquidity of the day. Trade EUR/USD, GBP/USD, gold or the indices and you are trading with the flow rather than against an empty book.
If you are in North America
Your morning is the overlap and your afternoon is the second half of New York. The US cash open at 09:30 Eastern is on your doorstep, which makes US indices a natural fit. Your evening is dead for anything except AUD and NZD.
If you are in India, the Middle East or South Africa
The London open lands in your early afternoon and the overlap in your evening: often after work, which suits people trading around a job. In Mumbai the overlap falls roughly 17:30 to 21:30 IST in summer. That is a genuinely good window.
If you are in Asia-Pacific
Your working day is the Tokyo session, so trade what is actually in session: yen pairs, AUD, NZD and the Nikkei or ASX. The London open falls in your evening if you want European instruments; the overlap is the middle of your night and is rarely worth losing sleep over.
The mistake to avoid
If your available hours only overlap with a quiet session, the answer is to change instrument, not to force a European strategy into an empty market. A breakout system built for the London open will not survive being run at 03:00 UTC on EUR/USD, and no amount of tuning will fix that; the volume it depends on simply is not there.
Knowing what is live without checking a table
Market Structure Pro displays the current session directly on your MT5 chart and factors it, along with the live spread, into a single TRADE / NO TRADE verdict. You stop converting timezones in your head and start seeing whether conditions actually support the setup in front of you.
One clear call, with the reasoning:
A NO TRADE during a dead session is explained rather than left to guesswork. Market Structure Pro is non-repainting and works on every MT5 instrument.
See the live session and the verdict on your own charts
Market Structure Pro is session-aware. It shows which session is running, watches the spread, and fuses 27 tools into one honest TRADE / NO TRADE call with a confidence score, an A/B/C grade and a plain-English reason. Free 7-day trial, no card required.
Start free trialFrequently asked questions
What time is the London session in EST?
In northern-hemisphere winter the London session runs 03:00 to 12:00 EST. In summer, when both regions are on daylight saving, it runs 03:00 to 12:00 EDT. The tables above give the exact figures alongside every other session.
What time is the New York session in IST?
In summer the New York session runs roughly 17:30 to 02:30 IST the following morning. In winter it runs 18:30 to 03:30 IST. India does not observe daylight saving, so the shift comes entirely from the US side.
What are forex market hours in GMT?
In winter, when the UK is on GMT: Sydney 21:00 to 06:00, Tokyo 00:00 to 09:00, London 08:00 to 17:00 and New York 13:00 to 22:00. In summer the UK is on BST rather than GMT, so those figures shift.
Why do session times differ between websites?
Most sites publish a single fixed UTC table and never update it for daylight saving. Because sessions are anchored to local business hours, any fixed table is wrong for roughly half the year, and wrong by a different amount during the weeks when the US and UK clocks are out of step.
What is the best session to trade from Asia-Pacific?
The Tokyo session, trading instruments that are genuinely active in it: yen pairs, AUD, NZD, the Nikkei and the ASX 200. Forcing European pairs during Asian hours means trading a market with very little volume behind it.
Keep reading
- London Session: Hours, character and why it sets the daily range.
- New York Session: US data, the 09:30 cash open and afternoon reversals.
- Asian (Tokyo) Session: Why it ranges, and what actually works in it.
- Sydney Session: The weekly open, gaps and thin Monday liquidity.
- London / New York Overlap: The busiest four hours of the trading day.