Managing daylight savings time and time zones

Beginner Questions
1

Being a relatively new trader, it has been a struggle for me to get my head around the start and stop of the trading sessions based on daylight savings time and time zones. Is there a definitive place that I can check that says what the session trading times are that day and the time zone?

2

Set your time zone to utc + 0

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3

I use market 24h clock website.
They are automatically adjusted for daylight savings time, plus you can also set the timezone.

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4
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5

Thanks for the response. I know I"m probably beating this to death but just need to make sure I’m clear. If I’m practicing a strategy that says trade New York from 13:00:00 and ends 16:59:00 in GMT time, would this change with daylight savings or would this time be constant throughout the year?

Thanks for the patience.

6

The good news is that understanding the trading hours across different markets is much simpler than it seems, and you can always check the definitive times for any given day. Here are a few ways you can keep track of the Forex market sessions and time zone changes:

1. Forex Market Session Timetable

There are many reliable websites that provide a clear timetable of Forex market sessions and their opening and closing times. These sites account for Daylight Saving Time (DST) changes across major markets. Some of the most popular resources include:

  • Forex Market Hours: A website like Time Zone Converter will allow you to quickly compare the major trading sessions and their timings in different time zones. The major Forex sessions are the Asian, European, and North American sessions, and these times shift slightly depending on daylight savings.
  • MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5): Many trading platforms, like MT4/5, automatically adjust for DST and show market open and close times in your local time zone. Additionally, these platforms often display the time of your chart’s current candle, which can help you stay aligned with the market’s schedule.

2. Forex Trading Session Chart

You can also use Forex trading session charts that visually show the overlap of different trading sessions. The London and New York sessions, for example, overlap for a few hours, and this overlap is considered a high volatility time, perfect for taking advantage of price movement. Websites like BabyPips often provide a Forex Session Chart that shows the hours for each trading session with a clear distinction of when they start and end in GMT, and how they translate into your local time zone.

3. Automated Calendar Tools

There are various Forex calendar apps or website tools that offer market session timings based on your location. These tools help you adjust for DST changes automatically. For example, TradingView and MyFxBook are popular platforms where you can track global market opening times and easily adjust based on your local time.

Next Step

To make it easy on yourself, I recommend setting a recurring alarm or reminder on your phone to keep track of session overlaps and daylight savings. This way, you’ll always be prepared for the start and end times of each market session without worrying about conversions.

Ultimately, with these resources, you can stop guessing and instead confidently follow market timings, ensuring that you enter and exit the markets at the optimal times. You’ll find that once you have this knowledge in place, timing your trades becomes much more intuitive and stress-free.

Happy trading, and don’t forget to check the time zones before making your next move!