The most suitable currency pairs for traders in each region:
North America / South America: USD, CAD pairs e.g. USDCAD, CADCHF
Europe / Africa: GBP, CHF, EUR pairs e.g. GBPJPY, EURUSD
Asia / Australia : JPY, AUD, NZD pairs e.g. AUDUSD, NZDCHF
What makes these currencies most suitable for traders?
With banks across the world generally opening at 8am local time, these currencies are at their highest trading volume during the morning period of their respective regions. This means traders can seize the morning opportunity of their local time to trade at opportune times.
XAUUSD (commonly referred to as Gold) is an excellent pair to trade during all major sessions, but particularly during the London & New York session.
💡 XAUUSD has been a staple trading instrument in our livestreams in 2023. It can be found under ‘Spot Metals’ on your trading platform. In traditional investing, Gold is classed under the precious metals assets, a sub-class of hard commodities. However, it is regarded as a forex pair when traded against currencies, such as the dollar or the euro i.e. XAUUSD, XAUEUR.
If you are a trader hailing from the US, Canada or the rest of the Americas, the ideal trading pairs will be currency pairs trading against the US dollar (XXXUSD/USDXXX) or Canadian dollar (XXXCAD/CADXXX), such as USDJPY or GBPCAD.
You’ll want to be trading these pairs in the New York session, particularly during the London/NY overlap, which falls between 12PM - 4PM UK time. Always pay close attention to the hourly candle closures — but especially during the first few hours of each session open. The information you get from these candles, will indicate what price action may follow.
Traders living in Europe and Africa are spoilt for choice. Early risers can benefit from European volume, while those who choose to trade in the late morning or afternoon, can make the most out of the great volume seen in the New York session.
Criteria for choosing your session to trade:
a balance between volume, liquidity and your lifestyle
trade the overlaps where possible — the most active market periods
The financial markets are open to retail traders between Sunday 5PM ET (Eastern Time) and Friday 5PM ET.
There are 4 sessions, but the big three — Tokyo, London & New York carry far greater volume than the Sydney session. Due to this, you’ll want to focus on trading in the major three sessions over Sydney, for higher quality positions.
Tip: Due to the Sydney session’s low volume & overlap, it is often considered part of the Asian session.
NY Time (All times mentioned are mentioned in EST time)
The Sydney session runs from 5pm -l 2am
The Asian (also known as Tokyo) session runs from 8pm to 5am
The London session runs from 3am to 12pm (volume from London dies after 11pm)
The New York session runs 8am to 5pm NY time (volume drops after 4pm with NYSE close)
Throughout each session, there are usually news events that will affect currencies of those regions, varying in impact on a day-to-day basis. It’s always a good idea to check a forex economic calendar to view the forecast on high impact news every trading day before considering positions.
We can use the volume that currency pairs get from news releases, to secure high-quality positions thereafter. As previously mentioned, more volume leads to larger ranges, which in turn leads to more opportunities for positions.
Sessions in GMT/UTC (adjust depending on your time zone):
Sydney — 9pm to 6am
Asian — 12am to 8am
London — 7am to 3pm
New York — 12pm to 9pm
Sessions in UK Time:
Sydney — 10pm to 7am
Asian — 1am to 9am
London — 8am to 4pm (European banks open at 7am)
New York — 1pm to 10pm
Sessions in NY Time:
Sydney: 4pm to 1am
Asian: 7pm to 4am
London: 2am to 11am
New York: 8am to 5pm
The best times to trade:
The New York / London Overlap —
UTC/GMT: 12pm - 3pm
UK: 1pm - 4pm
NY: 8am - 12pm
The Asian / European Overlap — 2 hours
UTC/GMT: 7am - 9am
UK: 8am - 10am
NY: 3am - 5am
Tip: Sessions are subject to changes in Daylight Savings. Trading brokers will communicate with you regarding trading hours when Daylight Savings goes into or out of effect.
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