Can You Trade Forex on Weekends?

The foreign exchange (forex) market typically trades 24 hours each day of the work week. You may be among the eager traders who wonder, “Can you trade forex on weekends?” The forex market is officially closed for weekends since the decentralized global market is driven by four trading sessions – Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York – that shut down for the weekend. 

However, while trading activity is highest during traditional workdays, you have opportunities through over-the-counter (OTC) markets or brokers with extended trading hours or a chance to trade cryptocurrencies. Here’s a closer look at trading on weekends.

Is Weekend Forex Trading Possible? Breaking Down Market Hours

With forex trading being driven by the four major trading sessions in Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York, forex market hours effectively stretch 24-hour-a-day trading to five and a half days. That means you have a few weekend hours to trade during traditional trading sessions, depending on where you are in the world.

The first market to open is in Sydney, which can range from 14 hours to 16 hours ahead of the East Coast of the United States, depending on the time of year. The time difference means a major market is open on Sunday for forex traders in the U.S. Since the New York market is the last major market to close, traders in other parts of the world have a few hours on Saturday to trade forex.

If you search, “When does forex market open?” this is what you’ll find for trading hours for the Eastern Standard Time zone:

• Sydney: 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Tokyo: 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.
• London: 3 a.m. to noon
• New York: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If you’re a U.S.-based trader, your forex trading schedule could begin at 5 p.m. Sunday and end at 5 p.m. Friday. If you’re in Sydney, your forex trading schedule could extend to 7 a.m. Saturday, when the New York session ends.

Alternatives and Exceptions to Weekend Market Closure

• Crypto forex pairs: Cryptocurrency is decentralized, so it’s not impacted by traditional forex markets. You can trade cryptocurrencies paired with another cryptocurrency, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, the U.S. dollar or a foreign fiat currency.
• Weekend trading via synthetic markets: Synthetic markets are not tied to a specific exchange or traditional market. Synthetic indices are products created from math formulas to simulate the price dynamics and volatility of financial instruments. They are available on MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), cTrader and TradingView from several brokers.
• News analysis and strategy prep: With no weekend forex trading, you can take advantage of the time to analyze the latest market and economic news, prepare your trading strategies for the next week or practice trading in a demo account.

Weekend Forex Activity: Can You Take Advantage of It?

Can you trade forex on weekends? There can be several advantages to doing so during those extra hours on Sunday or Friday night, depending on where you live.

• Strategies: Gap and Bollinger Bands trading are good strategies for weekends.
• Additional time: You have more time to accumulate profits.
• Flexibility: If you have a busy schedule, weekends can give you time to trade.

To get the most from your weekend trading, do your research to find a reputable broker that offers weekend forex trading and consider different market conditions with many of the institutional participants and other traders sitting the weekend out.

How to Handle Forex Positions During Weekend Market Closure

When forex market hours are closing for the weekend, there are several actions you can take, depending on your risk tolerance and trading strategy.

Closing Positions

You can choose to close your open trades to avoid potential price gaps – the difference between the closing price on Friday and the opening price on Sunday – but it also means you could miss out on profits.

Holding Positions

If you choose to hold positions open over the weekend, consider using risk management tools like stop-loss and limit orders to safeguard your capital if the market moves against you.

If you decide to hold a position, you can consider hedging strategies, such as buying the opposite position or options to minimize your risk. Another consideration with holding positions over the weekend is the swap charge and rollover rate. A swap charge is effectively an interest payment or fee for holding the position.

Why Timing Matters When Trading Forex

Time plays a significant role in forex trading. One example is when forex market hours overlap. That’s when forex markets are typically most active and the best time to trade is when the markets are most active.

When there are more participants – and therefore, more trading – in forex markets, you’ll get the narrowest spread, giving you the chance to execute your trade at the price you want.

Here is where the major exchanges overlap in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT):

• Sydney and Tokyo: Midnight (8 p.m. EST) to 7 a.m. (3 p.m. EST)
• Tokyo and London: 8 a.m. (4 a.m. EST) to 9 a.m. (5 a.m. EST)
• London and New York: 1 p.m. (9 a.m. EST) to 4 p.m. (noon EST)

More than half of forex trades occur on the New York and London exchanges. However, consider the currency pair you want to trade and what the best time to trade might be for that pair.

Also, consider that the increased trading activity can lead to high volatility. Depending on your risk tolerance and the opportunities you seek, that can be a plus or a minus.

Decide Whether You Want to Trade Forex on Weekends

Now you know that you can trade forex on major exchanges for 5.5 days, but the major exchanges close for the weekend. However, you can trade limited forex through some markets and brokers on weekends and you have the alternative of crypto forex trading, which occurs 24/7. 

Weekend forex trading comes with wider spreads and higher volatility, so decide whether your trading strategy and risk tolerance fit trading forex on the weekend.

Frequently Asked Questions