Time change reminder --- March / April 2017

Beginner Questions
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Over the next 3 weeks, various countries will begin (or end) Daylight Saving Time (DST), turning their clocks forward (or back, as the case may be) — and, in the process, shifting their trading session times (forward or back) by one hour. This will coincide [I]loosely[/I] with the date of the Spring Equinox in late March, when the planet transitions from winter to summer in the northern hemisphere, and vice versa in the southern hemisphere.

Then, in the Fall, all these time changes will be reversed on various dates, roughly around the time of the Fall Equinox (in late September).

If the countries of the world had the good sense to coordinate with one another, and make all these changes on the same date, it would certainly be helpful to forex traders around the world, and to anyone else trading world markets. But unfortunately, that good sense eludes the Masters of the Universe who run our countries. As a result, we have to contend with time changes on 3 different dates (instead of just one) in the Spring, and on 4 different dates (instead of just one) in the Fall.

We have been tracking these time changes for several years, and by now you all 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 March-April 2017 in the major forex markets[/B]

• March 12 — the U.S. and Canada will begin Daylight Saving Time

• March 26 — the U.K., and eastern, central and western Europe will begin Summer Time (DST)

• April 2 — southeastern Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, etc.)
and New Zealand will return to Standard Time

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

• February 19 — most of Brazil returned to Standard Time

• March 26 — Ireland will begin Summer Time (DST)

• April 2 — most of Mexico will begin Daylight Saving 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 the U.S. and Canada this weekend.

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On Sunday, March 12, [B]the U.S. and Canada[/B] will begin Daylight Saving Time (DST).

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-5 to GMT-4.

Clocks in the U.S. and Canada (and in Bermuda, Bahamas and Cuba) will be turned forward one hour prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, March 13.

• For traders in the U.S.* and Canada*, the New York Session times will not change, but the trading sessions in every other forex market will open and close one hour [I]later[/I] than previously, starting Monday morning, March 13.

• For traders in all other countries, the only change will be that the New York Session will open and close one hour [I]earlier[/I] than previously, starting Monday morning.

*This statement does not apply to Arizona and Hawaii in the U.S., or to certain portions of Canada, because those places do not observe DST.

[B]This change will temporarily alter the normal time difference between London and New York:[/B]

For the next 2 weeks — from Sunday, March 12, through Friday, March 24 — the London/New York time difference will be [B]4 hours[/B] (instead of the usual 5 hours).

And, during this same 2-week time period, the heavily-traded London/New York Overlap will be [B]5 hours[/B] (instead of its usual 4 hours), as follows: 12pm-5pm London time, and 8am-1pm New York time.

The next DST time change will occur in 2 weeks on March 26, at which time the U.K. and all of eastern, central, and western Europe will begin Summer Time (daylight saving time).

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Thank you for the reminder, I lose track of those changes every year.

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Another great thread by Clint! Thank you so much, I always forget about this change, it doesn’t affect me that well. :slight_smile:

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On Sunday, March 26, [B]the U.K., Ireland, and all of eastern, central and western Europe[/B] will begin Summer Time (what we in the U.S. call Daylight Saving Time - DST).

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+2 to GMT+3.

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

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

Clocks in all of these countries will be turned forward one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, March 27.

• For traders in all of these countries, opening and closing times in the London Session and the European Session will not change, but the trading sessions in Tokyo and New York will begin and end one hour [I]later[/I] than previously, starting Monday morning.

• For traders in countries not listed above, the only change will be that the London Session and the European Session will begin and end one hour [I]earlier[/I] than previously, starting Monday morning.

Traders in the U.S. and Canada who trade the London Session and/or the European Session, and traders in the U.K. and Europe who trade the New York session, should be aware that the time difference between London and New York (which has been 4 hours for the past 2 weeks) will return to its normal [B]5-hour[/B] duration, beginning Monday morning (and continuing until September).

Also beginning Monday morning, the heavily-traded London/New York Overlap Period will return to its normal [B]4-hour[/B] duration, as follows: 1pm-5pm London time, and 8am-12pm New York time.

The last DST time change for this season will occur in one week, at which time New Zealand and southeastern Australia will return to Standard Time.

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On Sunday, April 2, [B]New Zealand and southeastern Australia[/B] will end Daylight Saving Time (DST) and return to southern hemisphere Standard Time.

• In New Zealand, the time zone will change from GMT+13 to GMT+12.

• In the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, and Tasmania (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, etc.), the time zone will change from GMT+11 to GMT+10.

• In South Australia (Adelaide, etc.), the time zone will change from GMT+10½ to GMT+9½.

Clocks in New Zealand and in southeastern Australia will be turned back one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, April 3.

• For traders in New Zealand and in southeastern Australia, the forex trading sessions in Wellington and Sydney will not change, but the trading session in every other forex market will begin and end one hour [I]earlier[/I] than previously, starting on Monday morning.

• For traders in the rest of Australia, and in all other countries, the only change will be that the forex trading sessions in Wellington and Sydney will begin and end one hour [I]later[/I] than previously, starting on Monday morning.

Also on April 2, most of Mexico will begin DST.

These are the last time changes for this season. The next time change will occur in late September 2017.

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