London Session Forex Hours: GMT, New York, CST, PST
When the London forex session opens and closes in GMT, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles time, how daylight saving shifts it, and when London overlaps New York.
Forex trades around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, but the volume moves around the world in sessions. The London session is the largest: London is the biggest forex trading center, and its open is when euro and pound pairs usually wake up.
The session is commonly taken as 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. London time. What that is in your time zone depends on daylight saving time, which London and the United States switch on different dates.
London session hours for most of the year
| Time zone | London open | London close |
|---|---|---|
| London (GMT in winter, BST in summer) | 8:00 | 16:00 |
| New York (ET) | 3:00 a.m. | 11:00 a.m. |
| Chicago (CT) | 2:00 a.m. | 10:00 a.m. |
| Los Angeles (PT) | 12:00 midnight | 8:00 a.m. |
| UTC in winter | 08:00 | 16:00 |
| UTC in summer | 07:00 | 15:00 |
The weeks when it shifts by an hour
The United States moves its clocks on the second Sunday of March and back on the first Sunday of November. The United Kingdom moves on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October. In the weeks between, London is four hours ahead of New York instead of five:
| Period in 2026 | London open in New York time |
|---|---|
| 8 March to 28 March | 4:00 a.m. |
| 29 March to 24 October | 3:00 a.m. |
| 25 October to 31 October | 4:00 a.m. |
| From 1 November | 3:00 a.m. |
If your trading plan says "London open at 3:00 a.m.", check the calendar in those weeks.
The London and New York overlap
The New York session runs from about 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. New York time. From 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. New York time, both centers are open. US economic reports at 8:30 a.m. land in this window, and it is usually the most active part of the forex day, especially for EUR/USD and GBP/USD.
How traders use the London session
- The open: the first hour often breaks the range that formed during the quieter Asian session.
- The overlap: volume and volatility peak, and US data can reverse the London move.
- The London close: around 11:00 a.m. New York time, positions get squared and moves often fade.
These are tendencies, not rules. The best way to learn how a pair behaves at the London open is to watch many of them.
Practice the London open on replay
Waiting up for one London open a day is slow practice. In ChartTrainer you can pick the London window and replay past sessions of EUR/USD, GBP/USD and other markets candle by candle with the date hidden, then trade them with stops and targets. Forex sessions are generated for now and tagged as such. Start from the forex simulator.
Videos
Questions
- What time does the London forex session open in New York time?
- At 3:00 a.m. New York time for most of the year (8:00 a.m. in London). For a few weeks in March and late October to early November, when only one of the two cities is on daylight saving time, it opens at 4:00 a.m. New York time.
- What time is the London session in GMT?
- 8:00 to 16:00 London time. In winter London is on GMT, so that is 08:00 to 16:00 GMT. In summer London is on BST (GMT+1), so it is 07:00 to 15:00 GMT.
- What time is the London session in CST and PST?
- For most of the year it opens at 2:00 a.m. Chicago time (CT) and midnight in Los Angeles (PT), and closes at 10:00 a.m. CT and 8:00 a.m. PT.
- When do the London and New York sessions overlap?
- From about 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. New York time, which is 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in London. It is usually the most active part of the forex day.
- Which pairs move most in the London session?
- Pairs with the euro and the pound, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/GBP, because European banks and institutions are open. Gold is often active too.