In about 10 days, the semi-annual silliness known as Daylight Saving Time will be upon us again.
On three dates, March 14, March 28, and April 4, various countries (or portions of countries) which are important to us as forex traders will go onto, or off of, Daylight Saving Time; while some other countries (or portions of countries) which do not observe Daylight Saving Time will just keep on doing what they’ve been doing.
Traders in every country around the globe will be affected by these changes — even traders in countries which do not participate in Daylight Saving Time.
It’s a mess, even for veteran traders who can figure time zones in their heads.
For newbies just getting familiar with this worldwide, 24-hour-per-day market, these time changes can be intimidating.
[B]Here’s the schedule:[/B]
Sunday, March 14 — U.S. and Canada go onto Daylight Saving Time
Sunday, March 28 — U.K., central Europe and Russia go onto Daylight Saving Time
Sunday, April 4 ------ New Zealand and s.e. Australia return to Standard Time, and Mexico goes onto Daylight Saving Time
If we take these changes a step at a time, I think we can cut through the confusion and make the next month fairly painless.
Towards the end of next week, I will post more detail regarding the time change occurring on March 14, and how that will affect trading times in the forex market for the following 2 weeks.
Then, two weeks later, we’ll detail the March 28 changes; and, finally, a week after that, we’ll detail the April 4 changes.
Then, we can forget about further time changes, until late September.
[B]A note about Europe.[/B] When forex traders refer to Europe, they are usually talking about the part of Europe which comprises the Central European Time zone (CET). That’s the region I referred to above as “central Europe”. This region happens to include the industrial and financial heart of Continental Europe, but it isn’t quite all of Europe.
Here is a list of the countries (and principalities) which comprise the Central European Time zone: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Vatican City.
[B]Countries and regions which do not observe Daylight Saving Time:[/B] a portion of Australia (see list below), Philippines, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, India, South Africa, Jamaica, a portion of the U.S., a portion of Canada, and a portion of Mexico (see lists below).
[B]The states which comprise southeastern Australia[/B] (these locations are currently on southern hemisphere Daylight Saving Time): New South Wales (Sydney), Australian Capital Territory (Canberra), Victoria (Melbourne), Tasmania (Hobart), and South Australia (Adelaide).
[B]The states in Australia which remain on standard time year-round:[/B] Queensland (Brisbane), Northern Territory (Darwin), and Western Australia (Perth).
[B]The portion of the United States which remains on standard time year-round: [/B] Arizona, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
[B]The portion of Canada which remains on standard time year-round:[/B] a large portion of Saskatchewan, and small portions of British Columbia and Quebec.
[B]Mexico:[/B] Baja California goes onto DST on March 14; the state of Sonora remains on standard time year-round.
Reference: Upcoming Daylight Saving Time Clock Changes
More detail in a week.
Clint