JoymistaFirst: session hours are a convention, not an official bell
Forex has no central exchange that opens and closes. It runs through banks and brokers around the world from Sunday evening to Friday evening New York time. A “session” is the usual working hours of a big financial centre, which is why sources sometimes disagree by an hour.
In this article, as in Joymista’s MARKET SESSIONS tool, each session runs from 8:00 to 17:00 local time in its city (Sydney, London and New York) and from 9:00 to 18:00 in Tokyo. If another table differs by an hour, this convention is usually the reason, not a mistake in the sums.
Why the times change twice a year
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq are on UTC+3 all year, Jordan too since it dropped daylight saving in October 2022, and the UAE is on UTC+4 all year. Egypt is on UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 from the last Friday of April to the last Thursday of October.
The financial centres change their own clocks: the United States from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, the UK and Europe from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October, Australia the other way round because its summer is our winter, while Japan does not change at all. So the London and New York sessions move a full hour on your clock twice a year, even when your own clock never changes.
Winter table: first Sunday of November to second Sunday of March
| Session | Riyadh, Amman, Kuwait, Baghdad | Dubai | Cairo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 00:00–09:00 | 01:00–10:00 | 23:00–08:00 |
| Tokyo | 03:00–12:00 | 04:00–13:00 | 02:00–11:00 |
| London | 11:00–20:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 10:00–19:00 |
| New York | 16:00–01:00 | 17:00–02:00 | 15:00–00:00 |
This table applies from 2 November 2026, after the United States went back to standard time on Sunday 1 November. In the week before, New York opened at 15:00 Riyadh time; it now opens at 16:00.
Summer table: first Sunday of April to first Sunday of October
| Session | Riyadh, Amman, Kuwait, Baghdad | Dubai | Cairo (summer time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 01:00–10:00 | 02:00–11:00 | 01:00–10:00 |
| Tokyo | 03:00–12:00 | 04:00–13:00 | 03:00–12:00 |
| London | 10:00–19:00 | 11:00–20:00 | 10:00–19:00 |
| New York | 15:00–00:00 | 16:00–01:00 | 15:00–00:00 |
The Cairo column holds from the last Friday of April, when Egypt starts summer time and its times match Riyadh. Earlier in April, take one hour off the Riyadh column.
Overlaps in Riyadh and Amman time
An overlap is when two sessions are open together, and liquidity usually rises because traders in two centres are working at once. In UTC+3:
- London and New York: 16:00 to 20:00 in winter, 15:00 to 19:00 in summer. These are the busiest hours of the day for most major pairs and gold.
- Tokyo and London: 11:00 to 12:00 in winter, 10:00 to 12:00 in summer.
- Sydney and Tokyo: 03:00 to 09:00 in winter, 03:00 to 10:00 in summer, usually quieter hours for the European pairs.
In Dubai add one hour to each time. In Cairo take one hour off in winter; in summer the times are the same.
Illustrative exampleA trader in Riyadh works until 4 pm and wants to trade EUR/USD in its busiest hours. In winter the London–New York overlap starts at exactly 16:00, so they can trade from 16:00 to 20:00. In summer the overlap starts at 15:00 while they are still at work, leaving them three hours of overlap, 16:00 to 19:00, instead of four.
Transition weeks: when neither table is right
Because countries do not change their clocks on the same day, a few weeks a year mix the two tables. In Riyadh and Amman time:
- From the second Sunday of March to the last Sunday of March (about two weeks): New York is on summer time (15:00 – 00:00) and London still on winter time (11:00 – 20:00), so their overlap stretches to five hours, 15:00 to 20:00.
- From the last Sunday of March to the first Sunday of April: London and New York are on summer time and Sydney is still 00:00 – 09:00.
- From the first Sunday of October to the last Sunday of October: Australia has started its summer, so Sydney goes back to 00:00 – 09:00, while London and New York are still on summer times.
- From the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of November (usually one week): London is on winter time (11:00 – 20:00) and New York still on summer time (15:00 – 00:00).
Illustrative exampleIn 2027 the United States changes its clocks on 14 March and the UK on 28 March. A trader in Amman will see New York open at 15:00 from 15 March, while London keeps opening at 11:00 until 28 March and then moves to 10:00.
When does the market open on Sunday and close on Friday?
Forex usually runs from 5 pm Sunday to 5 pm Friday New York time. In Riyadh and Amman that is 01:00 early Monday to 01:00 early Saturday in winter, and 00:00 in summer. In Dubai add one hour; in Cairo take one hour off in winter.
The actual open on your platform is set by your broker, and prices in the first minutes after the open can be patchy with a wider spread than usual, so check the trading hours in your broker’s symbol specification.
Let MARKET SESSIONS do the sums
Instead of memorising two tables and the transition weeks, Joymista’s MARKET SESSIONS tool shows the four sessions on a bar across the day in your device’s time zone or a city you pick, such as Amman, Riyadh, Cairo or Dubai. It handles summer and winter time automatically, with a countdown to the next session opening or closing and a card for each overlap.
Because a quiet hour can turn busy with a strong economic release, it helps to open ECONOMIC CALENDAR alongside it to see today’s scheduled releases in your time before you choose your trading hours.