One of the most notable things about the Forex market is the fact that it is always open, no matter the time of day. This means that if you have a rock-solid tip for a successful trade and you cannot wait to put your trade in place, then you do not have to concern yourself with making sure that the market will be open when you want it to be. certain trading centers may not be open at certain times, but because Forex is global and the trading sessions will always be open somewhere you will usually be able to find a way to put things in motion.

The three most prominent trading centers are in New York, Japan and London – corresponding to the three most prominent stock exchanges in the world, Dow Jones, Nikkei and the Financial Times Stock Exchange (often known as “FTSE” or “Footsie”, because of how it would be pronounced if read phonetically.). The most active trading hours come when one or more of these markets is open, as they are easily the most active exchanges. Going by the Eastern Standard Time 24 hour clock, New York is open from 7am to 4pm, London from 3am to 11am and Tokyo from 7pm to 3am. The four-hour overlap between New York and London, between 7am and 11am Eastern Standard Time or Midday and 4pm GMT is when the greatest number of trades are being made and the most volatility is in the market. These hours benefit the quick traders ready to take advantage of dramatic swings before the market corrects itself.

During these times, if you can develop an awareness of which currency moves when, can be the points when you make your biggest moves on the market and if you place the trade just right can be the ones which make you rich. The biggest moves in this market will come on days when there is a big financial announcement, often when the major banks in certain countries announce their quarterly, six-month or annual figures. From these figures you will be able to judge when a currency should be bought or sold, especially if it is one of the most prominent banks.