By Christopher Lewis
Reviewer Adam Lemon
Fact check DailyForex.com team
The Forex market operates 24/5 and has no official opening and closing times. It works with the beginning of the trading week and the end of the trading week. Therefore, Forex trading starts on Sunday at 22:00 GMT and ends on Friday at 22:00 GMT. For South African Forex traders this means Sunday 00:00 to Friday 24:00, but what are the most profitable hours of the Forex market in South Africa?
From a technical perspective, the most profitable hours in the Forex market in South Africa are during the most liquid trading sessions.
Reasons why liquid trading sessions are best include:
- Greater liquidity results in narrower spreads
- Narrower spreads lead to higher profits
The Forex market is open 24 hours a day without opening or closing, but the trading week starts on Sunday at 00:00 (SAST) and closes on Friday at 24:00 (SAST). Despite the 24/7 nature of the Forex market, four trading sessions account for 75% of global Forex trades, with London and New York accounting for over 60%. For many Forex traders, the best hours in the Forex market in South Africa are during those sessions.
The four main Forex trading sessions are:
- Sydney, which unofficially kicks off the trading week
- Tokyo, which injects most of Asia’s liquidity
- London, which accounts for most of the Forex trading volume
- New York, which unofficially ends the trading week
Below is a table showing the unofficial Forex market hours for the four main Forex centers:
|
|
Local business hours |
GMT Opening Time |
SAST |
|
Sydney |
Monday 08:00 |
Sunday 22:00 |
Sunday 00:00 |
|
Tokyo |
Monday 09:00 |
Sunday 24:00 |
Monday 02:00 |
|
London |
Monday 08:00 |
Monday 07:00 |
Monday 09:00 |
|
New York |
Monday 08:00 |
Monday 12:00 |
Monday 14:00 |
When evaluating the most profitable forex trading hours in South Africa, forex traders should take into account the unofficial opening hours of each major forex center as listed below.
Sydney Forex Trading Session
|
|
Local time |
GMT Time |
SAST |
|
Open it |
Monday 08:00 |
Sunday 22:00 |
Monday 00:00 |
|
Close |
Monday 16:00 |
Monday 06:00 |
Monday 08:00 |
Tokyo Forex Trading Session
|
|
Local time |
GMT Time |
SAST |
|
Open it |
Monday 09:00 |
Sunday 24:00 |
Monday 02:00 |
|
Close |
Monday 18:00 |
Monday 09:00 |
Monday 11:00 |
London Forex Trading Session
|
|
Local time |
GMT Time |
SAST |
|
Open it |
Monday 08:00 |
Monday 07:00 |
Monday 09:00 |
|
Close |
Monday 16:00 |
Monday 15:00 |
Tuesday 17:00 |
New York Forex Trading Session
|
|
Local time |
GMT Time |
SAST |
|
Open it |
Monday 08:00 |
Monday 12:00 |
Monday 14:00 |
|
Close |
Monday 16:00 |
Monday 20:00 |
Tuesday 22:00 |
When two Forex markets operate simultaneously, overlapping sessions increase liquidity and create more trading opportunities with lower trading fees. The London – New York overlap session is the most important Forex trading period for Forex traders, accounting for 60%+ of all Forex trading activity.
Sydney – Tokyo Overlapping Forex Trading Session
|
South Africa start time |
South Africa End Time |
Currency pairs to consider |
|
Monday 02:00 |
Monday 08:00 |
AUD/USD, AUD/NZD, NZD/USD, AUD/NZD, AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY, USD/JPY |
Tokyo – London Overlapping Forex Trading Session
|
South Africa start time |
South Africa End Time |
Currency pairs to consider |
|
Monday 10:00 |
Monday 13:00 |
GBP/JPY, EUR/GBP, EUR/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/CHF, EUR/CHF, CHF/JPY |
London – New York Forex Trading Session Overlay
|
South Africa start time |
South Africa End Time |
Currency pairs to consider |
|
Monday 14:00 |
Monday 18:00 |
EUR/USD, USD/CHF, USD/JPY |
The best Forex brokers in South Africa maintain a top-notch trading infrastructure to ensure an edge for Forex traders.
Forex traders should also consider the following:
- Awareness of forex session overlap to ensure execution of the right trading strategy
- Using an economic calendar to plan for avoidable spikes in volatility
- Implementing appropriate risk management
- Using artificial intelligence trading tools
The most profitable hours in the Forex market in South Africa are when Forex traders can focus on executing their strategy. From a liquidity and profitability standpoint, the three overlapping sessions remain superior. They account for 75%+ of global trading volume, are characterized by lower spreads and increased profitability.