Market Hours (UTC +1)

We have 3 major forex trading sessions in South Africa which are:

1. London Session

The London forex session open & close time in South Africa depends on the month of the year.

2. New York Session

The New York forex session open time in South Africa depends on the month of the year.

3. Asian Session

The Asian forex session time in South Africa is from 11 PM and closes by 6 AM. During this session, Australian & Asian financial institutions, stock exchanges etc. will be awake and open for business.

Best Time To Trade Forex

1. During London & New York Session Overlap

Between 3 PM & 6 PM, the London & New York sessions are open at the same time and this is called an "overlap". During this overlap period, there are many buyers/sellers in the market so prices move faster & spreads tighten. This makes the LON/NY overlap one of the best times to trade major fx pairs/.

The LON/NY overlap is also one of the best times to trade US indices like Nas100 and its also best time for trading gold (XAU/USD).

here are some possible pairs you can trade during the LON/NY overlap:

2. During The First & Last Hours of LON & NY Sessions

The forex market is like a U-shape with activities peaking at the opening of a session, tanking during the middle, and peaking again towards the end of the session.

The first hour of the London & New York sessions are usually busy because institutional usually traders send in their big orders early.

The first hours could also set the direction for the remainder of the session, so opening a trade early could see you ride a trend from its inception.

The last hour of the London & New York sessions, are also very busy because institutional traders will be exiting their positions for the day, and placing overnight trades.

Why Trading Forex at the Right Time Matters

Lower Trading Fees:The forex market is open 24 hours a day except on weekends, but you need to avoid being charged high trading fees by trading forex at the right time.

Forex brokers rely on different liquidity providers (such as banks, hedge funds, etc.) to get the exchange rate for currencies, then they add their trading fee (spread) to these exchange rates before publishing it for you to see.

If you trade forex at a time when the relevant banks are closed for business, the broker may have to act as a market maker and set the exchange rate by themselves resulting in higher exchange rates/ask prices.

However, when you trade forex at a time when many banks are open for business, the broker will source the lowest exchange rate and even after adding the spread, the rate will still be competitive.

Faster Price Movement: Trading forex at the right time also has the advantage of faster price movement and bigger candlestick formation. This improves your chances of making a quicker profit within a shorter time.

Can I Trade Forex in South Africa on Sunday?

In South Africa, the forex market opens on Sunday by 11 PM and this marks the start of the Asian session. So, yes you can trade forex on Sunday but trading fees are usually high and price movement is usually slow.

Quick Tips for New South African Forex Traders