Trading & signals glossary
What are the forex trading sessions?
Trading sessions are the hours of the day when the major financial centers are open: Asia (Tokyo and Sydney), Europe (London) and the Americas (New York). Forex and gold trade nearly 24 hours a day, but activity and volatility concentrate in the London and New York sessions, especially when they overlap.
How it works
London session: roughly 7:00 to 16:00 UTC. New York session: roughly 12:00 to 21:00 UTC (both shift with daylight saving time).
From 12:00 to 16:00 UTC the two overlap: that’s when gold moves the most.
In New York time (ET), London opens around 3:00 a.m. and New York around 8:00 a.m.; the overlap runs until about noon.
Asia
22:00–7:00 UTC
London
7:00–16:00 UTC
Overlap
12:00–16:00 UTC
New York
12:00–21:00 UTC
Example: a day in gold
- Overnight in the US: the Asian session, slower moves.
- London open: European volume arrives and price often picks a direction.
- New York open and US data: the most volatile stretch of the day.
- Afternoon: volume tapers off into the close.
Our data · Verpips
When channels post
- 23%
- of signals, at the New York open
- 20%
- at the London open
When signals get posted
Across the 269 channels in our directory, 23% of signals are posted between 13:00 and 17:00 UTC (the New York open) and 20% between 7:00 and 11:00 UTC (the London open). In New York time, that’s roughly 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 7 a.m. during daylight saving time.
Verpips data as of Oct 7, 2026, measured against the real price. See how we measure and the channel directory.
Types and variations
- Asia (Tokyo, Sydney)
- Lower volume in gold and the European pairs.
- London
- The highest-volume session in forex.
- New York
- US data and the overlap with London.
Why it matters when choosing a signal channel
If a channel posts mostly at a time when you can’t check your phone, you’ll copy late or not at all. Every channel report in the directory shows when that channel posts.
Common traps
- Signals posted during thin liquidity, with wide spreads.
- Channels that claim to trade “all day” but post almost everything in a single hour.
Key takeaways
- ✓Sessions are the hours the major markets are open.
- ✓London and New York are where the movement is.
- ✓The overlap is the most volatile window.
- ✓Check whether a channel’s schedule fits yours.
FAQ: trading sessions (London and New York)
What time does the London session open in New York time?
Around 3:00 a.m. ET for most of the year; for a couple of weeks in spring and fall, when the US and UK switch clocks on different dates, it’s 4:00 a.m.
What’s the best time to trade gold?
The most active window is usually the London–New York overlap (about 8 a.m. to noon ET), when US data comes out.
Channel by channel
See these numbers for each channel, not as an average.
With a free account you see each channel’s result in R, its drawdown, and what it announced versus what actually happened.