Time change reminder --- September / October / November 2016

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Over the next 6 weeks, various countries will go onto, or off of, Daylight Saving Time (DST).

This is a nuisance for forex traders around the world — one we have to contend with every 6 months.

Between late September and early November each year, and then again between early March and late April each year, we go through a transition from northern hemisphere summer to southern hemisphere summer, and then back again.

During these transitions, clocks in some local markets get shifted backward or forward by one hour, affecting the local opening and closing times for some forex trading sessions, depending on where you are in the world and which session you are trading.

We have been tracking these time changes for several years. By now, you know how to make the necessary adjustments in your trading. All you need is a schedule of the changes which are coming.

Here’s the schedule:

[B]Daylight Saving Time Changes for September-November 2016 in the major forex markets[/B]

• September 25 — New Zealand will begin Daylight Saving Time (DST)

• October 2 — southeastern Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, etc.) will begin DST

• October 30 — the U.K., and eastern, central and western Europe will return to Standard Time

• November 6 — the U.S. and Canada will return to Standard Time

[B]Daylight Saving Time Changes in other markets[/B]

• October 16 — Brazil will begin DST

• October 30 — Ireland, and most of Mexico will return to Standard Time

[B]Significant markets which do not observe Daylight Saving Time[/B]

• Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Russia, and South Africa

See post #2 for details of the time changes which will occur in New Zealand this weekend.

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[B]On Sunday, September 25, New Zealand will begin southern hemisphere Daylight Saving Time.[/B]

In New Zealand, the time zone will change from GMT+12 to GMT+13. Clocks in New Zealand will be turned forward by one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, September 26.

The next Daylight Saving Time change will occur in one week, at which time southeastern Australia will begin DST.

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Thanks for the useful info. I`m in South Africa and usually the market opens 11pm Sunday evening (8 hours behind NZ) in my time. Does this mean the market opens 1 hour earlier at 10pm Sunday evening (9 hours behind NZ) in my time?

Hello, nazzeem

The time shift in New Zealand primarily affects traders in New Zealand. It has essentially no effect on traders elsewhere in the world.

I’m aware that my statement above contradicts most of what you will read on the internet and elsewhere, about the so-called “opening” and “closing” times of various trading sessions in the retail forex market.

What follows (below) is a new way of looking at forex sessions and session times which (in my opinion) reflects the actual ebb and flow of liquidity and trading volume in this market. You may or may not agree with this way of defining sessions and times. If you agree, you can read more about it HERE. [I]If you disagree,[/I] then you should choose one of the many other classification systems described on the internet (and in the Babypips School of Pipsology). Some of those classification systems give importance to the time zone in New Zealand, but most do not.

So, based on liquidity and trading volume in the worldwide currency market, here is how I define forex trading sessions:

The vast majority of the world’s foreign exchange business is handled by 10 or 15 mega-banks in three locations — and New Zealand is not one of those locations. The three locations are Tokyo, London, and New York. During the normal business days in London and New York, those two markets dominate currency trading, and they call the shots. The rest of the world falls in line with the market-making that occurs in London and New York, starting at about 7 am London time, and winding down at about 5 pm New York time. That’s 15 hours during which London and/or New York lead the forex market, and the rest of the world follows. Those 15 hours comprise 3 distinct “trading sessions” defined by liquidity and trading volume: the London Morning Session, the London/New York Overlap Session, and the New York Afternoon Session.

Trading in the remaining 9 hours of the 24-hour trading day is driven by markets in the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region, in which Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are the dominant players. This 9-hour session is referred to either as the APAC Session, or the Asian Session, or simply as the Tokyo Session. Tokyo is traditionally singled out as the main driver of this session (and, therefore, this session is typically named after Tokyo), because until recently Tokyo was the largest market (by volume) in the APAC region. And Tokyo remains the regional headquarters for the world’s mega-banks, despite the fact that both Singapore and Hong Kong are now larger players (by volume) than Tokyo in the currency market.

So, what about Australia and New Zealand? Measured by foreign exchange trading volume, the market in Sydney (Australia) is a minor player, compared to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. And the market in New Zealand is significantly smaller than the market in Sydney.

It’s important to note that the Tokyo Session does not begin when one of the various markets in the APAC region opens. Rather, it begins when the New York Afternoon Session ends, at which time the maga-banks begin transferring their “books” (open positions and open orders) from their New York trading desks to their Tokyo trading desks. In similar fashion, the Tokyo Session ends when the London Morning Session begins, at which time those “books” are handed off from Tokyo to London.

So, the trading sessions that you should be focused on, and their current “opening” and “closing” times in your South Africa time zone (SAST), are as follows:

Tokyo Session — 11 pm SAST (2100 GMT) - 8 am SAST (0600 GMT)

London Morning Session — 8 am SAST (0600 GMT) - 1 pm SAST (1100 GMT)

London/New York Overlap Session — 1 pm SAST (11 GMT) - 6 pm SAST (1600 GMT)

New York Afternoon Session — 6 pm SAST (1600 GMT) - 11 pm SAST (2100 GMT)

These times will not change until the U.K. (and all of Europe) end Daylight Saving Time and return to Standard Time on October 30. One final change will occur when the U.S. ends DST and returns to Standard Time on November 6. More about those changes, when the time comes.

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Thanks for the good information. I were just busy trying to figure out if the market still opens today 11pm my time. Yes you are right. Nothing changes in my time zone for now.

Thank you for this reminder. I keep forgetting about the time change and it’s good to have such a detailed list.

[B]On Sunday, October 2, southeastern Australia will begin Daylight Saving Time.[/B]

The region referred to here as “southeastern Australia” comprises the states of [B]New South Wales[/B] (Sydney, etc.), [B]Victoria[/B] (Melbourne, etc.), [B]Australian Capital Territory[/B] (Canberra, etc.), [B]South Australia[/B] (Adelaide, etc.), and the island of [B]Tasmania[/B] (Hobart, etc.). Geographically, southeastern Australia comprises a little less than a third of the Australian continent.


• In New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, and Tasmania the time-zone will change this weekend from GMT+10 to GMT+11.

• In South Australia, the time-zone will change from GMT+9½ to GMT+10½.

Clocks in these states will be turned forward by one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, October 3.

• The states of [B]Queensland[/B] (Brisbane, etc.), [B]Northern Territory[/B] (Darwin, etc.), and [B]Western Australia[/B] (Perth, etc.) do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

The next Daylight Saving Time change will occur in 4 weeks, at which time the U.K. and Europe will end DST and return to Standard Time.

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On Sunday, October 30, [B]the U.K., Ireland, and all of eastern, central and western Europe[/B] will end Summer Time (Daylight Saving Time) and return to Standard Time. This time change will involve every country situated between the Russian border and the Atlantic Ocean, except Belarus.

Listed geographically, from east to west —

• In eastern Europe (Finland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, etc.) the time zone will change from GMT+3 to GMT+2.

• In central Europe (28 countries from Serbia west to Spain, and from Sweden south to Malta), the time zone will change from GMT+2 to GMT+1.

• In western Europe (Portugal), and in the U.K. (including the Channel Islands), and in Ireland, the time zone will change from GMT+1 to GMT.

Clocks in all of these countries will be turned back one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, October 31.

Traders in the U.S. and Canada who trade the European or London Sessions, and traders in the U.K. and Europe who trade the New York Session, should be aware that [B]the usual 5-hour time difference between London and New York will be reduced to 4 hours, for one week, starting Monday morning.[/B]

The last Daylight Saving Time change for this season will occur in one week, at which time the U.S. and Canada will end DST and return to Standard Time.

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On Sunday, November 6, [B]the U.S. and Canada[/B] will end Daylight Saving Time (DST) and return to Standard Time.

Five time zones in the U.S. (including Alaska), and seven time zones in Canada (including Nova Scotia and Newfoundland), will be affected by this time change.

In the eastern U.S. and Canada, which includes the key New York market, the time zone will change from GMT-4 to GMT-5.

Clocks in the U.S.* and Canada* will be turned back one hour prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, November 7.

[B]This change will restore the time difference between London and New York to 5 hours
(which is normal for most of the year).[/B]

*This statement does not apply to Arizona and Hawaii in the U.S. – In Canada, it does not apply to most of Saskatchewan,
various portions of British Columbia, and small portions of Quebec and Ontario. Those places do not observe DST.

This is the last Daylight Saving Time change for this season.

In 2017, the first Daylight Saving Time change (in a major market) will occur on Sunday, March 12, 2017.

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Hijacking this thread to remind people that in the UK clocks are going forward this Sunday!

:slight_smile: