Short answer: The global forex market opens around 2:30 AM IST on Monday and closes around 2:30 AM IST on Saturday (an hour later, 3:30 AM, during the northern winter). The busiest window for Indian traders is the London-New York overlap: roughly 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM IST in summer and 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM IST in winter.
Indian exchange-traded currency futures and options (NSE/BSE) run on their own fixed timetable: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM IST for INR pairs, and to 7:30 PM IST for cross-currency pairs.
India doesn't use daylight saving, so IST never moves. Everyone else does. That's why session times in IST shift twice a year.
Forex session timings in IST
Sessions follow local business hours in each centre. Brokers and charting sites draw the lines slightly differently, so treat these as working ranges rather than exact bells.
| Session | Local hours | IST (northern summer, approx. Apr to Oct) | IST (northern winter, approx. Nov to Mar) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM | 2:30 AM to 11:30 AM | 1:30 AM to 10:30 AM |
| Tokyo | 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM | 5:30 AM to 2:30 PM | 5:30 AM to 2:30 PM |
| London | 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM | 12:30 PM to 9:30 PM | 1:30 PM to 10:30 PM |
| New York | 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM | 5:30 PM to 2:30 AM | 6:30 PM to 3:30 AM |
How to read the columns:
- Sydney goes onto daylight saving in the southern summer (October to April). So Sydney gets earlier in IST during India's winter months, the opposite way to London and New York.
- Tokyo has no daylight saving. It's fixed at 5:30 AM to 2:30 PM IST all year.
- London is on BST (UTC+1) from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October, then GMT (UTC+0).
- New York is on EDT (UTC-4) from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, then EST (UTC-5).
What time does the London session open in India?
12:30 PM IST while the UK is on British Summer Time. 1:30 PM IST once the UK drops back to GMT at the end of October. It runs until about 9:30 PM IST in summer or 10:30 PM IST in winter.
London is the biggest forex centre by turnover, so EUR, GBP and CHF pairs get their tightest spreads and biggest moves here. Many brokers' liquidity providers also quote tighter during London hours. If you scalp, that matters more than almost anything else on this page.
What time does the New York session open in India?
5:30 PM IST under US daylight time, 6:30 PM IST under standard time.
US data lands in this session. Non-farm payrolls and CPI usually hit between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM IST; Fed decisions come later, at 11:30 PM to 12:30 AM IST. Expect spreads to widen and fills to slip around all of them.
Session overlaps in IST
An overlap is when two centres are trading at once. That's usually where volume and volatility peak.
| Overlap | IST (summer) | IST (winter) | Pairs that move most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney + Tokyo | 5:30 AM to 11:30 AM | 5:30 AM to 10:30 AM | AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/JPY, AUD/JPY |
| Tokyo + London | 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM | 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM | EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, USD/JPY |
| London + New York | 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM | 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM | EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, XAU/USD |
For most Indian retail traders the London-New York overlap is prime time. It falls in the evening, after work. And gold (XAU/USD), which a lot of Indians trade more than any currency pair, is at its busiest then too.
The Asian morning, roughly 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM IST, is quiet for EUR and GBP pairs. Spreads can be wider and ranges smaller. Range traders sometimes like that. Breakout traders usually hate it.
The DST shift weeks
The UK, US and Australia change clocks on different dates. For a few weeks each year, the usual gaps between sessions don't hold:
- March: the US moves to daylight time two to three weeks before the UK. In that gap New York opens at 5:30 PM IST while London still opens at 1:30 PM IST, so the overlap stretches to about 5:30 PM to 10:30 PM IST.
- Late October to early November: the UK returns to GMT on the last Sunday of October; the US waits until the first Sunday of November. In 2026 that means London opens at 1:30 PM IST from Monday 26 October, while New York keeps its 5:30 PM IST open until 1 November, when it moves to 6:30 PM IST.
- Australia changes in early October and early April, moving Sydney's IST times by an hour in the opposite direction.
Run an EA or set alerts by IST? Check them in these weeks. Broker server time (often GMT+2 or GMT+3, set so the daily candle closes at 5 PM New York) shifts as well, which moves your daily candle close in IST between 2:30 AM and 3:30 AM.
Weekend: when forex opens and closes in IST
Spot forex runs 24 hours a day, five days a week.
| Event | New York time | IST (US daylight time) | IST (US standard time) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open | Sunday 5:00 PM | Monday 2:30 AM | Monday 3:30 AM |
| Weekly close | Friday 5:00 PM | Saturday 2:30 AM | Saturday 3:30 AM |
| Daily rollover (swap charged) | 5:00 PM | 2:30 AM | 3:30 AM |
Some offshore brokers open a few minutes late on Monday and close a few minutes early on Friday. Many also pause for a few minutes around the daily rollover, when spreads blow out. Wednesday's rollover usually charges triple swap to cover the weekend.
Crypto CFDs trade over the weekend at some brokers. Currency pairs and gold don't.
NSE and BSE currency derivatives hours
The legal route for Indian residents is exchange-traded currency futures and options through a SEBI-registered broker. Those contracts keep exchange hours, not global session hours:
| Segment | Contracts | Trading hours (IST) | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Currency F&O, INR pairs | USD/INR, EUR/INR, GBP/INR, JPY/INR | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM | Monday to Friday, except exchange holidays |
| Currency F&O, cross pairs | EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY | 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM | Monday to Friday, except exchange holidays |
So an NSE trader on INR pairs is shut out of the London-New York overlap entirely: the market closes at 5:00 PM, half an hour before New York opens even in summer. Exchange holidays apply as well, which the global spot market doesn't care about. For the legal side and RBI's exposure requirement, see is forex trading legal in India.
Best time to trade forex in India
No single best time. Clear patterns, though:
- 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM IST (summer) or 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM IST (winter): most liquidity, tightest spreads on majors and gold, biggest moves. Also the most news risk.
- 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM IST (summer) or 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM IST (winter): the London open. Sharp moves in GBP and EUR pairs that often set the day's direction.
- 5:30 AM to 12:30 PM IST: the Asian session. JPY and AUD pairs are active; EUR and GBP pairs crawl.
- Avoid: the 30 to 60 minutes around the daily rollover (2:30 AM to 3:30 AM IST), when spreads widen sharply, and Monday's open, when weekend gaps can jump your stop-loss.
High leverage makes all of this worse. A spread that goes from 1 pip to 15 pips at rollover costs $150 on a standard lot before price has moved at all, which can stop out a small, highly leveraged account by itself. Check what a move costs you with the pip value calculator and size positions with the lot size calculator.
Choosing a broker for your hours
If you trade the evening overlap, withdrawals and execution during news matter more than headline spreads. We compare brokers on payout record, UPI support and complaint flags in our India rankings and the best forex broker in India guide. New to this? Start with forex trading in India: a beginner's guide.
FAQ
What are forex market timings in India?
The global forex market is open from about 2:30 AM IST Monday to 2:30 AM IST Saturday during US daylight time, and 3:30 AM to 3:30 AM during US standard time. NSE/BSE currency F&O trades 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM IST for INR pairs and 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM IST for cross pairs.
What time does the London session start in IST?
12:30 PM IST while the UK is on British Summer Time, and 1:30 PM IST from the last Sunday of October to the last Sunday of March.
Which forex session is best for Indian traders?
The London-New York overlap, about 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM IST in summer and 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM IST in winter. It has the most liquidity and movement.
Is the forex market open on Saturday in India?
No. It closes around 2:30 AM or 3:30 AM IST on Saturday morning and reopens around the same time on Monday morning.
Does India change its clocks for daylight saving?
No. IST is fixed at UTC+5:30 all year. Session times in IST change because the UK, US and Australia change their clocks.
Can I trade NSE currency futures in the evening?
Cross-currency contracts (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY) trade until 7:30 PM IST. INR pairs stop at 5:00 PM IST.
CFDs are leveraged products; most retail accounts lose money.