The Forex market is open 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday, but not all hours are equal. Whether you trade from Casablanca, Abidjan, Dakar or Yaoundé, the best windows fall at different points of your day. Here's how to find your way.
The three main sessions
- Asian session (Tokyo): the quietest. Lower volatility, limited moves. Not well suited to beginners looking for clear moves.
- London session: the European open, very active. It's often the best window for Forex and gold.
- New York session: the most volatile, especially during the London–New York overlap (both markets open at once).
The most active moment of the day is generally this London–New York overlap: strong liquidity, clean moves, tight spreads.
What time is it for you? (rough guides)
Hours shift with summer/winter time, but as a general guide:
- Morocco / Algeria / Tunisia: the London session falls in late morning/early afternoon — convenient.
- Côte d'Ivoire / Senegal / Mali (GMT): London around midday, the London–NY overlap in the afternoon.
- Cameroon / DRC (GMT+1/+2): shift by one to two more hours.
Best practice: figure out London's and New York's open times in your time zone once and for all, and note the overlap window — it's your best slot.
Times to avoid
- High-impact announcements (NFP, FOMC, CPI): spreads explode, slippage is unpredictable. See trading NFP volatility. Many bots actually pause at these moments.
- Sunday evening / Monday open and Friday close: low liquidity, possible gaps.
- The Asian session if you're a beginner looking for clear moves.
The advantage of a bot on time zones
If the best windows fall while you work or sleep, that's exactly where an Expert Advisor helps: it trades the right sessions 24/7 (ideally on a VPS), without you staying up. This guarantees no gain — but it solves the time-zone problem.
For method and risk, start with the learning resources and the 1% rule.
Educational content. Adestto AI is a software and educational-content publisher — not a broker or an investment adviser. No return is guaranteed; trading involves a risk of capital loss.