Why Forex Market Hours and Announcements are so ImportantBehind the forex market hours and real time forex quotes, one of my top currency trading basics is to watch for upcoming market announcements.Forex trading hours are flexible – it’s real time forex announcements that will make a difference to your currency trading strategy.Beside knowing when the markets are open (and therefore offering the best price movement), it’s important to get an idea of what the major announcements are on each currency for the day. My general rule is, if there’s an announcement on a currency coming up within the next hour, don’t trade in that currency. If you actively have a trade in that currency and are currently making a profit on that trade, take your profit and close the trade. 
If you’re not currently making a profit and have an open trade in a currency for which an announcement is soon to be made, stay in the trade. Your luck may turn as the announcement is made, and you might make a profit after all. If not, you will be trading with a stop-loss order (extremely important!) so your loss will be no more than you budgeted for anyway.So those are your rules: Market announcement in the next hour, assess your trade. If you’re making a profit, close the trade and take your profit. If you’re at a loss, ensure your stop-loss order is in place, stay in the trade and hold your breath.
This free forex calendar contains information about the latest market announcements.
Forex Market HoursForeign Exchange (Forex) is the world’s largest financial market. Forex market hours are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which means it technically never closes!You can trade the Forex market for at least a few hours each day – no matter where you live or what your work hours are. It’s a fantastic, accessible market for everyone around the globe. Forex market hours can suit anybody. For example, when I worked full-time in Sydney Australia, I would come home at about 6pm from work, open my charts, do some quick technical analysis and identify where my entry points would be for that evening, (if any). I would then go and prepare dinner, coming back periodically to check how the markets were going. Sometimes there would be a trading opportunity right at 6pm, as soon as I opened my charts. Other times I would need to wait several hours and wait and see if all my parameters were met before I entered a trade. There were MANY nights where I would wait for the right time, only to have the market back flip on me and prevent me from entering a trade. Those nights I would go to bed at around 11pm, disappointed but grateful that I had stuck to my trading rules and hadn’t entered a trade that I would ultimately lose on. 
While living on the West Coast the US for a short while, I traded first thing in the morning, at around 6am. This was because I could catch the tail-end of the Great British Pound (GBP) and European currencies before work, then I would come home in time for the Yen and the Aussie dollar in the evenings.So you’ll see no matter where you live, no matter which hemisphere, you can always make the time to trade for a few hours each day. There are times when the market is busier than others – busiest time of the day is when the larger European and Asian currency markets are open.
Related pages:Forex trading hours start at the beginning of the day at 9am in Wellington, NZ and progress around the world until 9am on the West Coast of the USA. Click here for a table in GMT.Forex Calendar Before entering a trade, it is wise to check this Forex Calendar to see if there are any upcoming market announcements in your chosen currency. Trading Forex Real Time Real-time, dynamic data is important to your currency trading strategy. In fact, it’s important to trade in real-time even as you’re learning how to trade forex with a demo account. Real Time Forex – (Predict the Future) Forex real time can be traded with a live account (real money) or a demo account (pretend money) as you hone your trading skills. Leave Forex Market Hours and return to Forex Trading Beginner Homepage |