Best and Worst Forex Trading Hours

Written by Christopher Lewis

Christopher Lewis

Christopher Lewis is a professional trader and author specialized in Forex and Crypto trading.

, | Updated: February 17, 2026

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• Go to:
• Liquidity, Turnover, and Volatility: The Three Pillars of the Forex Market
• Where Forex Market Volatility and Turnover Are Concentrated
• Breakdown of the Four Major Forex Sessions
• Breakdown of Hourly Volatility of Major Forex Pairs
• Weekly Volatility Also Matters
• Breakdown of Average Spread Costs Across the 24-Hour Cycle
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Timing is extremely important in the forex market, where traders’ success depends on extensive analysis, discipline, knowledge, and patience. Using institutional data on hourly price ranges and historical volatility, we analyzed the volatility levels and average spreads of major currency pairs throughout the 24-hour trading cycle to identify the best and worst trading windows. But first, let’s have a look at the connection between liquidity, volatility, and turnover, the main drivers of the forex market.

Liquidity, Turnover, and Volatility: The Three Pillars of the Forex Market

The relationship between liquidity, turnover, and volatility determines your transaction costs and execution quality. When these three factors are out of sync, retail traders face a higher risk of slippage and stop-outs.

• Liquidity represents the market’s depth. High liquidity ensures orders fill instantly without significant price shifts.
• Turnover is the total value of all transactions executed over a specific period. High turnover drives deeper liquidity, allowing for seamless entries and exits.
• Volatility represents the frequency and size of price fluctuations. High volatility offers trading opportunities from frequent and wide price swings, while low volatility results in tighter ranges and consolidation signaling low institutional activity.

High turnover maintains orderly price action and improves market efficiency. However, during transitions like the New York close, turnover drops, and liquidity also diminishes. Recognizing these shifts helps you avoid the widened spreads and thin market conditions leading to higher trading costs.

Where Forex Market Volatility and Turnover Are Concentrated

The global forex market operates as a network of regional hubs but trading activity is heavily concentrated within four primary financial centers: London (UK), New York (US), Tokyo (Japan), and Sydney (Australia). These hubs serve as the primary drivers of price action, collectively accounting for over 61% of the average daily turnover, according to 2025 data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

The UK leads in terms of average daily turnover with $4,743 billion on a net-gross basis, followed by the US with $2,335 billion, Japan with $440 billion, and Australia with $201 billion. These regions attract high turnover as they are home to the world’s strongest economies and largest banks. Their superior infrastructure and strict regulation make them the preferred destinations for the institutional market participants who provide the bulk of global liquidity.

Main Forex Trading Sessions – Average Daily Turnover in April 2025 (in Billion USD)

Data Source: Average daily volumes were retrieved from the 2025 triennial BIS survey

High turnover drives liquidity. A buffer effect occurs during regional session overlaps as millions of orders are processed simultaneously. This allows the market to absorb large trades without erratic price jumps and creates stable trends.

Breakdown of the Four Major Forex Sessions

The forex market’s 24-hour cycle on weekdays is divided into four distinct trading sessions that follow the sun across the globe. Liquidity shifts between financial centers as global business hours progress. Because each session is driven by different central banks and data releases, the trading environment changes significantly depending on which hub is active.

The most critical periods for any trader are the overlaps. These occur when two major sessions are open at the same time, leading to a surge in both turnover and volatility. The London-New York overlap, in particular, is the most liquid period of the day, as the world’s two largest financial centers are operating simultaneously.

Data Source: Ducascopy Market News and Article Blog

Breakdown of Hourly Volatility of Major Forex Pairs

We pulled data from Oanda’s historical volatility calculator to identify the best and worst hours for trading major forex pairs based on recent historical price fluctuations. The price difference was calculated by subtracting the lowest from the highest mid-price within each hour. These values were then averaged over a selected 10-day lookback period.

The shorter lookback timeframe ensures the data reflects recent liquidity changes while still covering two full weekly trading cycles. For clarification, Oanda sources prices from a deep pool of major liquidity providers like JP Morgan, Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and Deutsche Bank.

Thus, the price movements reflected in the charts below are largely identical to the interbank market where institutional participants operate. Institutional-grade data allows for a precise analysis of when liquidity is deeper and when the market is more susceptible to erratic movements that often occur during less liquid hours.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade EUR/USD

Data Source: Oanda Labs

As the most liquid pair, the EUR/USD follows a highly structured volatility pattern driven by the European and North American sessions. There is a clear ramp-up starting with the London open, followed by a substantial spike during the US overlap. Outside of these institutional windows, the pair experiences a significant drop in activity, leading to less favorable conditions.

• Best trading hours are from 13:00 to 16:00: The peak window corresponds to the London-New York overlap. Volatility reaches its daily high of 22 to 26 pips per hour, offering the cleanest price trends.
• Worst trading hours are from 22:00 to 00:00: Activity hits its lowest point during the New York close and Sydney open transition. With an average movement of only 5 to 11 pips, traders face stagnant prices and widened spreads.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade USD/JPY

Data Source: Oanda Labs

The Gopher is influenced by both the Tokyo and New York sessions, tracking the interest rate differentials between the Fed and the BoJ. The data reveals high turnover during the Asian morning and a second, more explosive volatility peak when the US markets open.

• Best trading hours are from 00:00 to 03:00 and 13:00 to 15:00: The initial peak occurs during the Tokyo open, where regional flows dominate. Another volatility peak of 32 to 35 pips per hour typically occurs during the first hours of the New York session when US economic data is released.
• Worst trading hours are from 20:00 to 22:00: Activity reaches its absolute daily low shortly before the Asian session begins. With volatility dropping to only 10 pips, price action becomes notoriously choppy and expensive to trade relative to the expected move.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade GBP/USD

Data Source: Oanda Labs

The pair is known for its relatively high volatility compared to other majors, largely driven by the 4-hour overlap between the London and New York sessions. While the London open triggers significant price movement, the pair reaches its maximum potential during the mid-day US liquidity surge.

• Best trading hours are from 14:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 16:00: The pair hits its daily peak of 34 to 35 pips during these hours. The London-New York overlap offers the most reliable momentum and deepest liquidity for trend traders.
• The worst trading hour is from 21:00 to 22:00: Activity collapses to its daily minimum during this hour, with an average move of only 9 pips. Such a thin market often leads to erratic price action and poor risk-to-reward ratios due to wider spreads.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade AUD/USD

Data Source: Oanda Labs

The AUD/USD is heavily influenced by economic developments in the Asia-Pacific region and global commodity prices. While it sees significant turnover during the Tokyo session, the data highlights that its most dramatic volatility occurs when the US dollar side of the pair is fully engaged during the New York afternoon.

• Best trading hours are from 14:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 16:00: The pair reaches its daily peak during these windows, with volatility hitting 23 to 24 pips per hour. This provides the best environment for capturing intraday trends.
• The worst trading hour is from 21:00 to 22:00: Volatility bottoms out at just 8 pips as the US session winds down. Trading during this hour is often inefficient due to the low pip-to-spread ratio.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade USD/CAD

Data Source: Oanda Labs

USD/CAD heavily relies on North American trade flows, which results in a volatility profile that remains relatively quiet until the Western markets wake up. Price action is most predictable when Canadian economic data and oil inventories align with the opening of the major New York institutions.

• Best trading hours are from 14:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 16:00: The pair experiences its primary volatility surge during the early New York session. Volatility climbs to 25 pips at 14:00 and reaches its daily peak of 27 pips at 15:00.
• Worst trading hours are 04:00 to 05:00 and 22:00 to 23:00: The pair sees its lowest activity levels during the Asian session and the New York rollover. Price movement drops to a mere 9 pips, creating a stagnant environment where spreads can easily devour one’s potential profit.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade USD/CHF

Data Source: Oanda Labs

USD/CHF typically follows the volatility trends of the euro but with slightly narrower hourly ranges. It serves as a primary safe-haven currency, and its price action is most consistent when major financial centers in Zurich and London overlap with the early hours of the New York session.

• Best trading hours are from 14:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 16:00: The pair experiences its primary volatility surge during the early New York session. Volatility climbs to 19 pips at 14:00 and reaches its daily peak of 22 pips at 15:00.
• Worst trading hours are from 21:00 to 22:00: Activity drops to its absolute lowest point during this time window. With a range of only 5 pips, this dead zone offers very little opportunity for profit relative to the cost of trading.

Best and Worst Hours to Trade NZD/USD

Data Source: Oanda Labs

The pair is unique among the majors because its volatility is more evenly distributed across different sessions. While it follows the broader market trend of peaking during the North American session, its secondary activity peak during the Asian morning provides a distinct opportunity for those focusing on regional economic releases from New Zealand and Australia.

• Best trading hours are from 14:00 to 15:00 and 15:00 to 16:00: The pair experiences its primary volatility surge during the early New York session. Volatility climbs to 17 pips at 14:00 and reaches its daily peak of 19 pips at 15:00. The pair shows a notable spike of 15 pips during the early Tokyo hours, offering a secondary window of liquidity for those trading the Asian session.
• Worst trading hours are from 04:00 to 05:00 and 20:00 to 23:00: Activity is at its lowest early in the Asian session at 8 pips and again during the New York wind-down, where it lingers at around 9 pips. These periods are often characterized by flat price action and wider spreads.

The data was retrieved from Oanda Labs on February 11, 2026

Weekly Volatility Also Matters

Hourly charts are great for timing your entry, but focusing only on intraday moves can cause you to lose sight of the bigger market trends. Weekly volatility analysis provides a broader perspective that filters out short-term market noise and identifies the primary direction of a pair.

For swing or carry traders, the weekly range is often more significant than hourly fluctuations because it highlights institutional trends and major levels of support and resistance that daily charts often might miss. A look at the weekly performance for major pairs reveals that volatility is not evenly distributed across the five-day trading week.

Weekly Price Range and Historical Volatility (10D, in Pips)

Data Source: Oanda Labs

Breakdown of Average Spread Costs Across the 24-Hour Cycle

We looked at EUR/USD to identify the most profitable hours during the 24-hour trading day. We chose this pair due to its high liquidity, as it accounted for over $2.71 trillion of the average daily turnover and had a 21.2% market share in 2025, according to BIS data. The averages were derived using Oanda’s spread cost calculator and historical spreads, which largely reflect the underlying market liquidity.

These figures are calculated as a time-weighted average of the spreads quoted over the last one to three months. With this in mind, we should also stress that past pricing is not indicative of future performance but can nevertheless be used to gauge the typical market conditions and identify potentially valuable time windows.

Data Source: Oanda Historical Spreads (derived on February 11, 2026)

• The midnight period between 00:00 and 01:00 UTC is the worst time to be in the market. Spreads are typically at their widest during this timeframe because of the extremely thin liquidity and low volatility. Marking the tail-end of the New York session, this period often sees spreads that are more than three times higher than the averages during other trading hours.
• The period between 12:00 and 19:00 typically sees lower and more stable spreads due to sufficient liquidity, so this is where you will usually find more value. The high pip-to-cost ratio means price movement is large enough to easily cover one’s trading costs and reach profit targets.

In conclusion, our analysis showed that the early hours of the London-New York overlap is the best time window when traders find maximum volatility paired with narrower and relatively stable spreads. Conversely, the midnight rollover poses a significant hurdle as thin liquidity and low volatility result in more-than-triple spreads in many cases.