The New York session, and the overlap that matters
New York runs from 08:00 to 17:00 its own time, but the session is really two halves. While London is still open it is the busiest window of the trading day. After London closes it thins out fast, and the same news can be read a second way.
American releases land at the start of it, which is where the dollar gets repriced.
Open right now
Reading your clock.
- Sydney...
- Tokyo...
- London...
- New York...
Hours are shown in your own time zone and follow each centre's own clock change, so they shift by an hour at different times of the year. Trading itself runs through the night; a closed centre means its own desks have gone home, not that the market has stopped.
Two halves, not one session
For the first three hours, London and New York are open together. Both books are live, spreads are at their tightest and the dollar is being repriced against a full European market. Most of the day's range is made here.
Then London closes. The same pair keeps trading, but with a fraction of the participants, and a figure that was bought at half past one gets reconsidered at four. Afternoon reversals are not a pattern to trade, they are what a thinner book looks like.
If you only have a couple of hours a day, the overlap is the part worth having. Busy is not the same as easy, but it is where a macro reading either gets confirmed by volume or does not.
Pairs with a reason to move
- Everything with the dollar. EUR/USD and GBP/USD keep their depth through the overlap, and USD/JPY reacts to American yields as they move.
- USD/CAD. Its own session at last: Canadian figures are often released in the same minute as the American ones, so both legs move at once.
- Commodity currencies. AUD/USD and NZD/USD follow the risk mood set by American equities rather than anything of their own.
- Not EUR/GBP. Both legs have gone home, and what is left is drift.
The afternoon, in order
The times below are fixed in New York, which means they move by an hour in Europe for the two weeks a year when the clocks are out of step. The live clock at the top of the page follows that by itself.
| When | What | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 New York | First tier American data | Inflation, payrolls, retail sales and jobless claims. Half an hour before the equity open, so the dollar reacts before stocks do. |
| 10:00 New York | Surveys and housing | Second tier on its own, but it can confirm or undo the morning figure, which is when a move gets its legs. |
| 14:00 New York | Federal Reserve decisions | Eight times a year, with the press conference half an hour later. The statement and the conference often say different things. |
| 16:30 London | London closes | European desks go home, liquidity halves, and moves that looked settled can drift for the rest of the afternoon. |
This week's releases with their exact times are on the calendar, and the European half of the day is on the London session page.
Questions about the New York session
What time is the New York session in forex?
New York desks work from 08:00 to 17:00 New York time, which is the early afternoon until late evening in Europe. The first hours matter most, because American data is released at the start of the session. Live session clock
Which pairs are best in the New York session?
Anything with the dollar on one side, and USD/CAD in particular, because Canadian releases often land in the same minute as the American ones. Crosses without a dollar leg tend to go quiet once London closes.
What time is US data released?
Most of the first tier figures come out at 08:30 New York time, half an hour before the equity market opens, and the Federal Reserve decides at 14:00 with the press conference half an hour later. That is why the session's character changes halfway through the afternoon in Europe. This week's releases
Is the overlap with London worth trading?
It is the busiest window of the day, with both books open, the tightest spreads and the sharpest reactions. Busy is not the same as easy: the same depth that makes a move carry also makes it turn quickly when a figure is read a second time.