Time change reminder --- September / October / November 2020

Trading Discussion
1

Over the next 5 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 drawn-out procedure begins each year shortly after the Fall Equinox in late September.

Then, in the Spring of 2021, all these time changes will be reversed on various dates, beginning roughly around the time of the Spring Equinox (in late March).

We have been tracking these time changes for several years – and, 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:

Daylight Saving Time Changes for September–November 2020 in the major forex markets

  • September 27 — New Zealand will begin Daylight Saving Time (DST)

  • October 4 — southeastern Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart, etc.) will begin DST

  • October 25 — the U.K. and all of eastern and western Europe will return to Standard Time

  • November 1 — the U.S. and Canada will return to Standard Time

Daylight Saving Time Changes in other markets

  • October 25 — Ireland, and most of Mexico, will return to Standard Time

Significant markets which do not observe Daylight Saving Time — listed by forex market size
(figures in parentheses are daily forex trading volumes, in billions of USD — source: BIS 2019)

  • Singapore (633), Hong Kong (632), Japan (376), and China (136)

Other markets which do not observe Daylight Saving Time

  • Korea (55), Russia (47), United Arab Emirates (46), India (40), Taiwan (30), South Africa (20), Turkey (19), Brazil (19), Thailand (14), and Malaysia (10)

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

5 Likes
2

On Sunday, September 27, New Zealand will begin southern hemisphere Daylight Saving Time.

  • In New Zealand, the NZST time zone (UTC+12) will change to NZDT (UTC+13)

Clocks in New Zealand will be turned forward by one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, September 28.

  • For traders in New Zealand: The forex trading session in New Zealand will not change. But, starting September 28, the forex trading session in every other market will begin and end one hour later than previously.

  • For traders in all other locations: The only change will be that, starting September 28, the forex trading session in New Zealand will begin and end one hour earlier than previously.

The next Daylight Saving Time change will occur in one week, when s.e. Australia will begin DST.

3 Likes
3

On Sunday, October 4, southeastern Australia will begin Daylight Saving Time.

The region referred to here as southeastern Australia comprises the states of New South Wales
(Sydney, etc.), Victoria (Melbourne, etc.), Australian Capital Territory - ACT (Canberra, etc.),
South Australia (Adelaide, etc.), and the island of Tasmania (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 UTC+10 to UTC+11.

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

Clocks in these states will be turned forward by one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on
Monday morning, October 5.

  • For traders in southeastern Australia, the forex trading session in Sydney will not change, but the
    trading session in every other market will begin and end one hour later 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 session in Sydney will begin and end one hour earlier than previously, starting on Monday
    morning.

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

The next Daylight Saving Time change will occur in 3 weeks, at which time the U.K. and Europe
will end Summer Time (DST) and will return to Standard Time.

4

That is a very helpful description. Appreciate the way you segmented these reminders wrt the months. Thanks

5

Thanks for the info mate.

6

My year is not complete without a time change reminder from @Clint :slight_smile:

7

I’m truly delighted to help you complete your year :laughing:

1 Like
8

On Sunday, October 25, the U.K. and all of Europe will return to Standard Time.

This time change will involve all of the 43 countries (and principalities) situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Russian border, except Belarus.

Listed geographically, from west to east:

  • In the U.K. (including the Channel Islands), the BST (UTC+1) time zone will change to GMT (UTC+0).

  • In the western European time zone — in Ireland, the IST (UTC+1) time zone will change to GMT, and in Portugal, the WEST (UTC+1) time zone will change to GMT.

  • In the central European time zone (comprising 30 countries and principalities from Spain east to Serbia, and from Sweden south to Malta), the CEST (UTC+2) time zone will change to CET (UTC+1).

  • In the 10 countries within the eastern European time zone (Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus), the EEST (UTC+3) time zone will change to EET (UTC+2).

Clocks in all of these countries will be turned back one hour, prior to the opening of the forex market on Monday morning, October 26.

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

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 the usual 5-hour time difference between London and New York will be reduced to 4 hours, for one week, starting on Sunday.

Also, beginning on Monday morning, and continuing for one week, the heavily-traded London/New York Overlap Session (normally 4 hours in duration) will extend to 5 hours, as follows:
12 pm - 5 pm London time, and 8 am - 1 pm New York time.

The last Daylight Saving Time change for this season will occur on November 1, at which time the U.S. and Canada will end DST and will return to Standard Time.

The EU Plan to Scrap Annual Time Changes

Eighteen months ago, the European Parliament voted in favor of an EU Committee draft directive ordering EU countries to decide — by April 2020 — whether to remain permanently on European Summer Time (DST) after April 2021, or to remain permanently on Standard Time after October 2021.

Well, April 2020 came and went, and no decisions were announced. Now, timeanddate .com reports that the whole thing is on the EU back-burner.

Here’s their article –

DST Might Become History in the EU

And here’s an Excerpt from that article —

DST Removal Not Likely in 2021

It was initially planned that DST would be removed in 2021, however the likelihood of the EU abolishing DST in 2021 is very slim. In 2020, Europe, like the rest of the world, has been busy handling the health and economic effects of Covid-19.

Negotiations have not yet started in the European Council, making it very unlikely for the new rules—even if agreed rapidly—to apply in 2021

So, at least through 2021, these twice-yearly time changes will continue in the EU.

9

On Sunday, November 1, the U.S. and Canada will end Daylight Saving Time (DST) and will return to Standard Time.

  • Five time zones in the U.S. (including Alaska), and seven time zones in Canada (including the maritime provinces of New Brunswick, 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 EDT (UTC-4) time zone will change to EST (UTC-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 2. [This statement does not apply to Arizona and Hawaii in the U.S., or to most of Saskatchewan, various portions of British Columbia, and small portions of Quebec and Ontario in Canada. Those places do not observe DST.]

  • For traders in the U.S. and Canada, opening and closing times in the New York Session will not change. But, the trading sessions in Sydney, Tokyo, Paris, and London will begin and end one hour earlier than previously, starting Monday morning.

  • For traders in other countries, the only change will be that the New York Session will begin and end one hour later than previously, starting Monday morning.

The change occurring on November 1 will restore the time difference between London and New York to
5 hours (which is the normal time difference for most of the year).

Also, beginning on Monday morning, and continuing until next March, the heavily-traded
London/New York Overlap Session will return to its normal 4-hour duration, as follows:
1 pm - 5 pm London time, and 8 am - 12 pm New York time.

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

In 2021, the first Daylight Saving Time change (in a major market) will occur on Sunday, March 14.

10

That’s great information about time change. I am sure it will be of great help to the traders.