Trading sessions and best time to trade binary options

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Trading session times

This page displays the opening hours of international stock markets, including the Forex market. This schedule displays the four main trading sessions of the Forex market, as well as the hours at which they intersect. The stock market hours chart displays the trading hours of the major currency exchanges.

It is always worth taking into account the periods of overlapping trading sessions one on one, as well as the opening and closing times of the London and New York trading sessions. During this time, markets are most volatile and asset prices can change significantly.

The best time to trade binary options is the time when the efficiency of the trading system and the trader himself is at its peak. The fact is that the nature of price movement changes depending on the time of day, season and calendar of economic events . It is important to choose a time to trade when the price is most predictable.

Experienced traders may have noticed that the wrong time for trading binary options can trigger a loss of deposit even on the most seemingly promising strategy . In most cases, this is due to special price behavior during certain hours. Even the best binary options trading system may not be compatible with trading, for example, during low-volatility night time.

When deciding what time to trade binary options, one cannot ignore the personal qualities of the trader. The best time to trade binary options is when you are at your peak of productivity and the price action is favorable to your trading system.

Content:

Trading sessions for binary options trading

A trading session is a time interval in which trading in financial markets is most active in any part of the globe. Depending on the activity of exchanges on any continent, there are several main trading sessions:

Asian (from 2:00 to 12:00 Moscow time);
European (from 9:00 to 19:00 Moscow time);
American (from 16:00 to 2:00 Moscow time);
Pacific (from 23:00 to 10:00 Moscow time).

The trading session affects the volatility of binary options trading instruments. In other words, at certain periods of time you can expect the market to move aggressively and unidirectionally with a high probability. This will increase the profitability of binary options trading systems based on trend following.

There are also periods when you should not expect any significant price movements. Outside of the main trading sessions for an asset, the price will move slowly, moving in a narrow sideways trend (flat) , introducing chaos into indicator readings and creating unfavorable conditions for trading binary options.

The figure below highlights the characteristic daily rhythms of the market, which are repeated day after day. During the Asian and Pacific session the market is asleep. The first half of the European session is characterized by wide flats and small trend movements. The largest movements occur during the intersection of the European and American sessions, but until the 23rd Moscow time you can still expect surprises from American players.

daily rhythm of Asian and American trading sessions

Asian trading session

The Asian trading session begins at two o'clock in the morning and lasts until noon. At this time, trading floors in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore are open.

Asian trading session chart

The Japanese yen, yuan, Singapore dollar and other currencies in the region are actively traded on local exchanges, and at this time spikes in their volatility can be observed. This happens primarily not due to speculative trading, but as a consequence of trade export operations of Asian countries. But the main commodity assets, currency pairs of other countries and cryptocurrencies during this period are unfavorable for trading, as they most often move in a narrow sideways trend.

European trading session

From 10 am to 7 pm in Moscow, stock exchanges in England, Switzerland, Germany and other large trading platforms in Europe operate.

European trading session chart

On the exchanges of London, Frankfurt and Zurich, large players influence the volatility of assets pegged to local currencies at this time. Gold, oil and commodities also rise and fall significantly in price as a result of both European trading operations and speculative transactions by market whales. Trading volumes are growing in European stocks and indices such as the FTSE and DAX.

The best time to trade binary options on these assets is the first two hours of the European session, from 10.00 to 12:00 Moscow time. After this, there is a decline in volatility in the European session, so after 14:00 Moscow time it is better to start getting ready for the opening of the American session.

American trading session

At 16:00 Moscow time, the New York Stock Exchange and the ICE Intercontinental Exchange begin operations. An hour later they are joined by traders from the CME, the largest Chicago Mercantile Exchange. These markets only close at 2 a.m. Moscow time, but only part of this session can be considered the best time to trade binary options.

American trading session chart

The period from 16:00 to 20:00 is the time when it is better to trade binary options, because traders, brokers, banks and large funds in the USA and Canada have already started their working day and are now moving prices together with colleagues from Europe, where lunch has already ended break.

price movement chart for the American session

Stocks, commodities, cryptocurrencies and most currency pairs rise and fall in value, creating a huge number of opportunities to ride the trend, use support and resistance levels, and actively trade systematically based on binary options indicators.

After 8 pm Moscow time, despite the US stock exchanges still being open, market movement slows down. There is still sufficient volatility for binary options trading, but weakening trends will increasingly go sideways after Europeans leave the trading floors. This is important to consider in your trading strategy.

Pacific trading session

The Pacific trading session continues from 11 pm to 10 am Moscow time. Most indices, commodity, currency and cryptocurrency assets move slowly in narrow ranges, accumulating the potential to form new trends.

Pacific session schedule

It is believed that this time is unfavorable for a trader. This is true due to the low volatility and low trading volumes during this time, but there are nuances.

Firstly, trading in the Australian and New Zealand dollars is beginning to increase in volume, because one of the world’s largest platforms, the Australian Stock Exchange, begins operating during the Pacific session. Yen-pegged currency pairs also have plenty of volatility drivers at this time.

Secondly, there are quite a large number of trading systems that operate in flat market conditions. If night trading is the only opportunity to find time to trade binary options, then first of all you should adapt your approach by choosing indicators and systems that have performed well when trading sideways.

News release time in binary options trading

Asset prices are sensitive to the news background, so the timing of news releases in binary options trading is important to consider.

At first glance, this task may seem insurmountable to an inexperienced trader, because no one can reliably predict the time of release of a new fateful tweet from Trump and Musk, or quickly calculate how the evening broadcast of CNN will affect your gold option with an expiration of 15 minutes.

But experienced traders know well that when planning the best time to trade binary options, we are primarily talking about the economic news calendar. The release of scheduled reports on interest rates and unemployment, annual and quarterly reports of individual companies, important meetings of committees on work in financial markets - all these economic events occur at predetermined times and have a huge impact on prices.

On our website you can find a convenient economic calendar , which marks the time of the upcoming news release, its significance for individual markets, as well as the current analysts’ forecast for the data included in the report.

Most people prefer not to have open trades during news releases and watch what is happening from the “bench”. But there are also trading strategies based solely on news. Such types of binary options as “Touch”, “Out of Range”, contracts with a set time for buying an option have proven themselves in trading on news.

Among the events of the economic calendar, attention should be paid to:

Data on the new number of unemployment claims in the US.;
Gross National Product (GDP) data;
Changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI);
US nonfarm payrolls (Nonfarm Payrolls);
Meeting of the US Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Every Thursday at 15:30 Moscow time, US unemployment statistics are released. All currencies pegged to the US dollar, as well as stocks and indices, experience a large surge in volatility in the first minutes after the release of statistics. The same applies to the release of Nonfarm payrolls on the first Friday of each calendar month at 15:30.

The FOMC meets eight times a year according to a pre-planned schedule. The US government's two-day debate is summed up in a special half-hour speech, during which markets go wild over the Federal Reserve's decisions on interest rates and overall US economic policy. Most traders simply prepare popcorn before the announcement of the meeting results, anticipating a market blockbuster with fluctuations of hundreds of points, often in both directions. But there are also lovers of risky strategies, for whom only a few times a year there is an opportunity to make the most of volatility.

price movement chart during the FOMC meeting

The release of statistics on GDP and CPI for different countries occurs at different times, so depending on the currency pair chosen for trading, it is necessary to monitor the corresponding data from the economic calendar. Thus, for trading operations with the British pound, the indicators of Great Britain will be primarily important, for the euro – statistics of the European Union and Germany.

Not keeping track of news release times in binary options trading is not the best idea, but you can still minimize efforts in this direction. For example, any economic forecasts and statistics have little impact on fluctuations in the price of oil, which only reacts to the EIA report on crude oil inventories on Wednesdays at 17:30 Moscow time. Cryptocurrencies are also loosely tied to the schedule of economic forums and reports.

When is the best time to trade binary options?

Individual biorhythms, the specifics of the trading system and market conditions are equally important in deciding when it is best for you to trade binary options.

It is traditionally believed that the time of intersection of the American session with the European one is the best time for trading. From 16:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, most assets are in a trend, have sufficient volumes and volatility, which facilitates the use of technical analysis tools in binary options trading.

However, it is important that at the same time there is a period when the trader can be sufficiently focused and effective. If the afternoon is accompanied by a heavy load in other areas of your life, or you are simply unproductive in the evening due to the individual characteristics of your body, it is better to choose the morning hours for trading.

Trading system features can also influence when the best time to trade binary options is. There are many strategies based on trading in flat market conditions. The opening of the European session and the second half of the American session are the times when major players accumulate volumes. This is done precisely in conditions of sideways price movement, so the time from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 20:00 to 23:00 can be effectively used for such strategies.

Special indicators can help traders determine the beginning and end of trading sessions on the chart in order to choose the best time to trade binary options. They highlight the desired period in different colors and also visually highlight the intersections of trading sessions. This tool can greatly facilitate testing strategies in different market conditions and also remind you of the occurrence of favorable or unfavorable conditions for trading binary options.

This is how the i-Sessions indicator displays different trading sessions:

displaying trading sessions in the i-Sessions indicator

By comparing your schedule and preferences with the strategy you use and the daily rhythms of the market, you will definitely find the time when it is best for you to trade binary options.

When should you not trade binary options at all?

Reaching the individual daily loss limit, a state of emotional instability, poor health, an illiquid market with extremely low payments from the broker - these are markers that it is time to stop trading.

Most binary options brokers provide technical capabilities for trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Even when the world's major trading platforms go on vacation, trading in OTC contracts and cryptocurrencies remains available.

And yet, there is a time when trading binary options is strictly not recommended.

After large losses or unexpectedly large income received , the trader’s psyche becomes unstable. The release of certain hormones prevents the making of informed decisions, therefore, taking care of the safety of the deposit, you should stop trading.

Technical limitations are another good reason to postpone the trading session. Some indicators and trading systems can be completely ineffective in a sluggish market, and will lead to the loss of your deposit if used at night. Also note that most binary options brokers offer reduced payouts on contracts and significantly limit the choice of instruments for trading after the world's leading markets close. This significantly reduces the statistical probability of winning.

You cannot trade binary options if it is impossible to strictly follow the chosen strategy or if the profitability of binary contracts is insufficient.

What to do if you don’t have time to trade on weekdays

Those who do not have the opportunity to trade during regular hours can focus on certain types of trading instruments that are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Cryptocurrency trading

Cryptocurrency prices weakly correlate with the actions of major players on global trading platforms. They trade around the clock without breaks on weekends. Moreover, this type of asset has excellent volatility and lends itself well to technical analysis. Moreover, it is at night and on weekends that major movements in cryptocurrencies most often occur, so they are well suited for trading binary options on Saturdays and Sundays, on holidays and at night.

OTC trading

Binary options brokers sometimes use synthetic quotes to give traders the opportunity to trade their favorite instruments at any time of the day and on weekends. They designate tools such as OTC (Over The Counter).

Thanks to OTC, traders have the opportunity to trade US stocks, currencies and commodities without being tied to the schedule of world exchanges, 24/7. The over-the-counter price is not affected by news or any other factors in the outside world. At the same time, the artificial nature of prices on the charts of OTC instruments is excellent for trading using technical analysis, because prices here are still characterized by trend and flat phases, and indicators work according to exactly the same algorithms as in normal times.

An example of a broker that provides such quotes is Pocket Option :

otc quotes in pocket option

Conclusion

The best time to trade binary options is a question that should take into account not only the state of the market during trading sessions in different time zones, but also the individual characteristics of the trader and his trading system.

With a flexible schedule and the ability to trade at any time, it is better for a trader to take a closer look at the periods of greatest market activity - the European and American trading sessions. An individual trading schedule can be adjusted based on when the trader is at his peak productivity and when his system shows the best results in terms of profitability.

If the opportunity to trade binary options exists mainly on weekends and holidays, then trading cryptocurrencies and OTC instruments can be an excellent option, because these assets have good volatility and are amenable to technical analysis at any time.

You can trade binary options at night on the same cryptocurrencies and OTC, but you can also focus on regular currencies, choosing either currency pairs pegged to the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar, or adapting your trading approach to the sluggish sideways trends that characterize most instruments at this time.

Testing any hypotheses and approaches on a demo account will help you determine at what time it is most profitable for you to trade binary options. Our rating of binary options brokers will also be useful in choosing a reliable partner who will provide uninterrupted access to financial markets at any time.

Best time to trade binary options