It is often said that there is never a dull moment in forex and that the markets barely sleep. This is true considering that forex is traded across different time zones and different markets leaving little to no room for forex trading to calm down. Unlike with stocks, where the window of opportunity is six and a half hours daily, there are no such constraints in the forex market. Whether it is the unrestricted trading hours or the low trading costs, traders from all corners of the globe are gravitating towards the world’s most liquid financial market, Forex!
The Forex market is open 24/5 because governments, businesses and individuals who require currency exchanging services are spread around the world, so trading on the Forex market never stops. This is made possible because there is no single physical location restricted to set opening hours. rather, since most money in the world is digital these days, so is currency exchange. Naturally, trading volumes per currency are skewed towards certain hours, but in no case is it limited.
With a huge number of transactions taking place every day it stands as the most active financial market in the world. The forex market undergoes a total trade volume of more than $5 trillion a day. A market as big as this is not just centered in one country but operates around the globe. This is the reason that it never stops nor can afford to stop or be stagnant even for a moment. The market technically works 5 days a week, but the fact that different markets of the world are located in different regions and time zones, makes it work almost 24 hours every day of the week.
While the foreign exchange market is not quite a 24/7 market, it runs Monday through Friday around the clock.. The main financial centres for currency transactions include London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Zurich, Frankfurt and Singapore. The currency market is a decentralized market, and trading is via the interbank market. Anyone can transact from anywhere via the Internet. Owing to the decentralized nature of the Forex market, banks quote cross-currency rates that will differ from other bank rates.
During each of the trading sessions, the economic data that is relased is not just limited to the particular country but surrounding countries that form a major trade partner. During the trading sessions, the market participants are made up of export and import companies, central and international banks, large financial companies. Also some of the trading sessions tend to largely impact other trading sessions. For example, the Tokyo session usually sets the tone for the New York session as traders tend to set up their strategies and plans accordingly.
