Forex Trading Sessions in South Africa: London, New York and Best Times to Trade
BY TIOmarkets
|March 21, 2026The forex market is open 24 hours a day, five days a week, but not all hours are equal. Trading activity, liquidity, and spread conditions vary considerably depending on which major financial centres are open at any given time.
For forex traders in South Africa, understanding how the global trading sessions map onto South Africa Standard Time makes it easier to identify when conditions are most favourable and plan a trading schedule accordingly.
South Africa Standard Time (SAST) is UTC+2 year-round. Unlike many countries, South Africa does not observe daylight saving time, which means the SAST offset from UTC never changes. However, the session times of overseas markets do shift when those countries adjust their clocks, which affects the local time at which sessions open and close during certain months of the year.
The Four Major Forex Trading Sessions
The forex market is divided into four major trading sessions, each centred on a major financial hub: Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York. These sessions overlap at certain times of day, and those overlaps are generally when trading volume and volatility are at their highest.
The Sydney session is the first to open each week, marking the start of the trading week in the Asia-Pacific region. The Tokyo session follows shortly after, bringing Japanese yen pairs and other Asian currencies into focus. The London session is the largest by volume and is where the majority of global forex activity takes place. The New York session overlaps with London for several hours, creating the most actively traded window of the day. The New York session closes to end the trading day, before Sydney reopens the following morning.
Session Times in South Africa Standard Time
Because SAST is UTC+2 and does not change, the SAST times for each session are fixed relative to UTC. However, the London and New York sessions shift by one hour during the periods when the United Kingdom and the United States observe daylight saving time, because those markets open and close at fixed local times in their own time zones.
The UK observes British Summer Time (BST, UTC+1) from late March to late October, and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, UTC+0) for the rest of the year. The US observes Eastern Daylight Time (EDT, UTC-4) from mid-March to early November, and Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC-5) for the rest of the year. Because South Africa does not adjust its clocks, these seasonal shifts mean the London and New York sessions appear to open one hour earlier in SAST during the northern hemisphere summer months.
Sydney session: During southern hemisphere summer (when Australia observes AEDT, UTC+11): opens at 01:00 SAST, closes at 10:00 SAST. During southern hemisphere winter (when Australia observes AEST, UTC+10): opens at 00:00 SAST, closes at 09:00 SAST.
Tokyo session: Opens at 01:00 SAST, closes at 10:00 SAST (year-round, as Japan does not observe daylight saving time).
London session: During northern hemisphere summer (BST, approximately late March to late October): opens at 09:00 SAST, closes at 18:00 SAST. During northern hemisphere winter (GMT, approximately late October to late March): opens at 10:00 SAST, closes at 19:00 SAST.
New York session: During northern hemisphere summer (EDT, approximately mid-March to early November): opens at 15:00 SAST, closes at 00:00 SAST. During northern hemisphere winter (EST, approximately early November to mid-March): opens at 16:00 SAST, closes at 01:00 SAST.
These are approximate times based on standard session open and close conventions. Individual instrument trading hours may vary. Always confirm the trading hours for the specific instrument you intend to trade inside the MT4 or MT5 platform.
The London Session for South African Traders
The London session is the most significant trading session for most forex traders globally, and South Africa's time zone places it in a favourable position relative to London. SAST is only two hours ahead of GMT in winter and one hour ahead of BST in summer, meaning the London session opens at a reasonable time of day for South African traders: around 09:00 to 10:00 SAST depending on the time of year.
During the London session, major pairs including EURUSD, GBPUSD, EURGBP, and a wide range of euro and sterling crosses typically see their highest liquidity and tightest spreads. This is when institutional order flow is at its peak in European markets and when many economic data releases from the eurozone and UK are scheduled.
For traders in South Africa, the London session running from roughly 09:00 to 18:00 or 10:00 to 19:00 SAST depending on the season aligns well with a standard working day. This makes the London session one of the most practical windows for active intraday trading from South Africa.
The London and New York Overlap
The overlap between the London and New York sessions is generally considered the most active trading window of the day. During this period, two of the world's largest financial centres are simultaneously open, and trading volume across major currency pairs is at its highest. Spreads on liquid pairs are typically at their tightest during this window, and price movements tend to be more pronounced.
For South African traders, the London and New York overlap occurs in the mid-afternoon. In summer (when London is on BST and New York is on EDT), the overlap runs from approximately 15:00 to 18:00 SAST. In winter (when London is on GMT and New York is on EST), it runs from approximately 16:00 to 19:00 SAST.
This afternoon window is one of the most actively watched by short-term traders. Many high-impact US economic releases, including non-farm payrolls, CPI data, and Federal Reserve announcements, are scheduled during New York trading hours, which in SAST fall in the mid-to-late afternoon and early evening.
The New York Session
The New York session runs from approximately 15:00 or 16:00 SAST depending on the season, and extends into the early hours of the following morning. The first few hours of the New York session, while London is still open, are generally the most liquid. As the London session closes and New York continues alone, activity tends to diminish on European pairs, though USD pairs remain active.
US dollar pairs including EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY, USDCAD, AUDUSD, and NZDUSD all see significant activity during New York hours. Major US economic data releases typically fall in the first half of the New York session, which in SAST terms means the late afternoon and early evening.
The Tokyo Session
The Tokyo session runs from approximately 01:00 to 10:00 SAST year-round, as Japan does not observe daylight saving time. This session is most relevant for traders focusing on Japanese yen pairs such as USDJPY, EURJPY, GBPJPY, and AUDJPY, as well as other Asian currency pairs. Liquidity during the Tokyo session is lower than during London or New York for most major pairs, and price ranges on European pairs tend to be narrower.
For South African traders, the Tokyo session runs overnight and into the early morning, which makes it less practical for most retail traders unless they are specifically focused on yen pairs or use automated strategies running on the desktop versions of MT4 or MT5.
The Sydney Session
The Sydney session is the first to open each week and runs overnight for South African traders, from around midnight to 09:00 or 10:00 SAST depending on the Australian season. It overlaps with the latter part of the Tokyo session. Liquidity during this window is typically lower than during the European or North American sessions, and it is most relevant for AUD and NZD pairs.
What This Means for Spreads and Trading Costs
Spreads on all account types are variable and fluctuate with market conditions. During peak liquidity windows, particularly the London session and the London and New York overlap, spreads on major pairs tend to be tighter than at other times. During the Sydney and Tokyo sessions, spreads on European and North American pairs can be wider due to lower liquidity.
At the open of the trading week on Sunday evening and at session transitions, spreads can widen temporarily. Around high-impact news events, spreads widen across all account types regardless of session. Orders are executed at the best available market price, which may result in positive or negative slippage during volatile conditions.
Key Economic Events for South African Traders to Monitor
The events most likely to drive volatility in the pairs South African traders most commonly trade tend to cluster around the London and New York sessions. These include eurozone and UK inflation and GDP releases, Bank of England and European Central Bank rate decisions, US non-farm payrolls, US CPI data, and Federal Reserve interest rate decisions and commentary.
South African rand pairs such as USDZAR are also available to trade and can be particularly sensitive to domestic South African economic data, including South African Reserve Bank rate decisions, as well as broader emerging market risk sentiment driven by events in London and New York.
All of these events tend to fall during the London or New York sessions, which in SAST terms means the 09:00 to 01:00 SAST window covers the vast majority of scheduled high-impact releases. The MT5 platform includes a built-in economic calendar that can be used to track upcoming events and their scheduled release times in the platform's server time, which can then be converted to SAST.
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