New York (open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) is the second-largest forex platform in the world, watched heavily by foreign investors because the U.S. dollar is involved in 90% of all trades. Movements in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) can have an immediate and powerful effect on the dollar. When companies merge, and acquisitions are finalized, the dollar can gain or lose value instantly.

Tokyo, Japan (open 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.) is the first Asian trading center to open, takes in the largest bulk of Asian trading, just ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore. The currency pairs that typically have a fair amount of action are USD/JPY (or U.S. dollar vs. Japanese yen), GBP/CHF (British pound vs. Swiss franc), and GBP/JPY (British pound vs. Japanese yen). The USD/JPY is an especially good pair to watch when the Tokyo market is the only one open, because of the heavy influence the Bank of Japan (Japan’s central bank) has over the market.

Sydney, Australia (open 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.) is where the trading day officially begins. While it is the smallest of the mega-markets, it sees a lot of initial action when the markets reopen on Sunday afternoon because individual traders and financial institutions are trying to regroup after the long pause since Friday afternoon.

London, Great Britain (open 3 a.m. to noon): The United Kingdom (U.K.) dominates the currency markets worldwide, and London is its main component. London, a central trading capital of the world, accounts for roughly 43% of global trading. The city also has a big impact on currency fluctuations because Britain’s central bank, the Bank of England, which sets interest rates and controls the monetary policy of the GBP, has its headquarters in London. Forex trends often originate in London as well, which is a great thing for technical traders to keep in mind. Technical trading involves analysis to identify opportunities using statistical trends, momentum, and price movement.

The least active times to trade are the quiet zones of the Sydney and Tokyo Sessions, which is a combined 10 hour stretch of time. Unless you are scalping during this session, hoping that your scalping system can take advantage of the lower liquidity, it is a good time to take a break and rest. The trading volume is very thin (relatively speaking) and few trends ever develop during this time. Most of the European traders have already gone to bed and the US traders have gone home to their families or have gone to bed themselves. If you are awake and have free time, it can be a good time to get prepared for the opening of the European session.

The whole year can be divided in thirds, starting with the three terrible months of Summer, the four best months of Autumn, and the four decent months of Winter-Spring.

• The FOUR best months (Autumn): September, October, November, and December.
• The FIVE good Months (Winter-Spring): January, February, March, April, and May
• The THREE worst months (Summer): June, July, and particularly, August.

Markets move for two reasons, investor sentiment about the future and news that breaks during the present. News releases can shape how investors feel about the long-term prospect of any given currency and set scheduled entrance and exit points. News used for long-term investing is usually released at predetermined dates and times, planning for all outcomes possible. Some of the major news releases used in Forex trading include:

• Retail sales figures
• Non-farm payrolls
• Unemployment rates
• Consumer price indexes
• Gross domestic product
• Interest rate announcements
• Consumer confidence indexes

These and other regular news releases can be useful to determine which currencies may be strengthened or weaken against another currency. Understanding how one or more economic indicators impact currency pairs can help fundamental traders. Where 24-hour trading becomes difficult is when sudden, unexpected news shakes the marketplace.