The New York open and the London overlap: how do you trade it?
The London–New York overlap is the busiest window in forex — the first hour of New York carries the volume of entire other sessions. Spreads tighten, moves accelerate, and every strategy behaves differently there.
What's your overlap playbook?
- the pairs you trade and the setups you look for
- how your entries and stops change in the first hour
- whether you avoid the window entirely and why
The sessions guide maps the overlap hours.
Background: Forex market hours: the Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York sessions
Currencies trade around the clock on weekdays, but not with the same liquidity. Session times in UTC, the overlaps that matter and the daylight-saving trap.
What time does the forex market open on Sunday?
Most brokers open at 5 p.m. New York time on Sunday, which is 21:00 UTC in summer and 22:00 UTC in winter.
What is the best time to trade forex?
Liquidity is usually highest during the London–New York overlap, roughly 12:00 to 16:00 UTC in the northern summer, when spreads on major pairs tend to be tightest. Whether that suits you depends on the pairs you trade and your strategy.
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