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What Time Does Forex Start? Sunday Open in ET
The forex market opens on Sunday at 5:00 pm ET, New York local time (10:00 pm UTC in standard time, 9:00 pm UTC during US daylight saving), when the Sydney session starts the week, and runs until Friday 5:00 pm ET; in UTC, 10pm to 10pm in standard time (BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13).
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| Week event | ET (New York) | UTC | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open (Sydney session) | Sunday 5:00 pm ET, New York local time | Sunday 10:00 pm UTC in standard time | BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13 |
| Weekly close (New York session) | Friday 5:00 pm ET, New York local time | Friday 10:00 pm UTC in standard time | FOREX.com, retrieved 2026-10-13 |
This table restates the schedule verified in this article; no new data is introduced, and the UTC column follows the sources' standard-time convention. The same habit of checking a claim against the page that publishes it is the core of how to audit a prop firm before paying for an account.
What time does forex start? The verified weekly open
The verified answer, in one line: forex starts at 5:00 pm ET on Sunday, New York local time (10:00 pm UTC in standard time); the subsections below show each source.
Sunday 5:00 pm ET in New York time (the direct answer)
If you trade on a platform displaying New York time, the published weekly open is Sunday at 5:00 pm on the New York clock in every season (the DST section explains why the UTC equivalent changes instead). BabyPips' market hours page gives the direct answer: "The forex market opens on Sunday at 5:00 pm ET" (BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13). OANDA states the same open in EST terms: the trading week begins with the Sydney session at 5:00 PM EST on Sunday (OANDA, retrieved 2026-10-13).
10:00 pm UTC: the same open in universal time
FOREX.com expresses the same window in universal time: the market is open from 10pm (UTC) on Sunday, when the Sydney session starts, to 10pm on Friday when the New York session closes for the weekend (FOREX.com, retrieved 2026-10-13). UTC does not shift with daylight saving; the DST caveat is covered further down.
Why "forex never closes" and "forex opens Sunday" are both true
They are not contradictory. BabyPips resolves it: "The forex market technically never closes, but retail traders can only trade the hours between Sunday at 5:00 pm ET and Friday at 5:00 pm ET" (BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13). The underlying interbank market operates somewhere in the world continuously, but the window accessible to retail traders, the one that matters for your orders, opens Sunday and closes Friday.
Which session actually starts the week, and when can you place your first trade?
The Sydney session starts the week as published at 5:00 pm ET on Sunday; when exactly your first trade can be placed is a platform detail, covered below alongside the sequence and the Wellington quirk.
Sydney 5:00 pm ET, then Tokyo 7:00 pm ET (Asia-Pacific open)
OANDA describes the sequence at the start of the week: "The trading week begins with the Sydney session at 5:00 PM EST on Sunday. Following this, the Tokyo session starts at 7:00 PM EST" (OANDA, retrieved 2026-10-13). The first stations of the trading week are Asia-Pacific hours, with Europe joining later and New York last; how a firm's own clocks relate to this schedule is covered in prop firm account clocks explained.
The Wellington quirk: Monday morning while it is still Sunday for you
BabyPips adds a geographic twist: "Since Wellington, New Zealand is a major financial center, the forex markets open there on Monday morning, while it is still Sunday in most of the world" (BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13). This is why "Sunday open" phrasing depends on where you sit on the globe: the week genuinely starts on Monday in New Zealand.
Retail window vs. interbank market: when your broker's platform actually lets you trade
The distinction matters. The market "technically never closes" for the interbank system, but the cited sources describe the retail window as Sunday 5:00 pm to Friday 5:00 pm, New York time. The first tradable tick on your account is a platform detail: the sources describe the market window, not every broker's implementation.
What hidden schedule rules can catch you at the open?
Three schedule facts sit outside the plain Sunday-to-Friday window: daylight saving shifts, the two full-market holidays, and the weekend gap.
DST shifts: why 5:00 pm ET is not the same UTC offset all year
The sources do not treat the open as one year-round constant. OANDA describes the seasonal shift in fixed-EST terms, with US DST from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November: on a New York clock the open stays at 5:00 pm ET in every season, and only the UTC equivalent changes in summer; FOREX.com states that open and close times vary by time of year (OANDA, retrieved 2026-10-13). Two consequences follow: 5:00 pm ET is the same New York clock time all year, while its UTC equivalent moves between 10:00 pm and 9:00 pm; planning should anchor to one reference, ET or UTC, never a mix, re-checking conversions in transition weeks.
Weekend gaps: the market "starts" with prices that moved while you could not trade
The cited sources establish one thing about weekends: the retail window is closed from Friday 5:00 pm to Sunday 5:00 pm, New York time, with no tradable ticks in between. This article documents no pricing mechanics for the closure; the observable fact is that Friday's last quote and Sunday's first quote are two separate prints, and whether they differ is a platform observation.
Christmas and New Year's Day: the only two full-market holidays
BabyPips states the rule: "Other than the weekends, there are just two public holidays when the entire forex market is typically closed, Christmas and New Year's Day" (BabyPips, retrieved 2026-10-13). On those two dates, the "Sunday open" does not deliver a normal trading day: the entire forex market is typically shut, not just one session.
Thin liquidity at the Sunday open: what the sources do not say
Sydney opens the week alone, and this article cites no spread or liquidity measurements for the first minutes of the week, so it makes none. What the cited sources do say is which window retail traders can trade at all, and that is the fact worth planning against; the cost side of trading a thin market is covered in trading costs against drawdown.
Is the Sunday open time stable enough to plan around?
BabyPips and OANDA state the same New York weekly open, OANDA separately publishes the seasonal shift that daylight saving brings, and FOREX.com states the UTC equivalent: verified 2026-10-13, valid through 2027-01-11. They agree on the EST open and differ in how they state seasonal detail, which is the DST section's subject.
Timezone conversion table for major regions
Rows below UTC are arithmetic conversions of the verified 10:00 pm UTC standard-time open, using standard zone offsets: conversions, not sourced session data.
| Reference | Sunday open |
|---|---|
| New York (ET) | 5:00 pm (sourced) |
| UTC | 10:00 pm standard, 9:00 pm during US daylight saving (sourced) |
| London | 10:00 pm (GMT); 10:00 pm in BST while US DST is active (conversion; 11:00 pm in the short windows when the UK is on BST and the US is not) |
| Tokyo (UTC+9) | Monday 7:00 am standard; 6:00 am during US DST (conversion) |
| Sydney (UTC+11 during US standard time; UTC+10 during US DST) | Monday 9:00 am standard; 7:00 am during US DST (conversion) |
How to verify the open on your own platform each week
The check is mechanical: read the first tick time for a major pair on your platform's market-watch page on Sunday evening. If your firm publishes session rules that depend on the open, such as prop firm news trading rules or weekend holding rules, keep a dated copy of the version in force.
Does when you start trading change what it costs you?
Timing and cost are connected in principle: the week opens with Sydney alone, and this article cites no spread measurements for those first minutes, so it makes none. The schedule documents which sessions are active when; any cost claim beyond that needs a source this article does not carry.
Verified facts at a glance
| Fact from the research ledger | Source |
|---|---|
| The forex market opens on Sunday at 5:00 pm ET, per BabyPips' market hours FAQ. | BabyPips |
| The market technically never closes, but retail traders can only trade between Sunday 5:00 pm ET and Friday 5:00 pm ET. | BabyPips |
| The trading week begins with the Sydney session at 5:00 PM EST on Sunday, followed by the Tokyo session at 7:00 PM EST. | OANDA |
| Daylight saving time changes the UTC equivalent of the fixed 5:00 pm ET open, per OANDA. | OANDA |
| In UTC, the market is open from 10pm on Sunday, when the Sydney session starts, to 10pm on Friday when the New York session closes for the weekend. | FOREX.com |
| Since Wellington, New Zealand is a major financial center, the forex markets open there on Monday morning, while it is still Sunday in most of the world. | BabyPips |
| Outside weekends, the entire forex market is typically closed on just two public holidays: Christmas and New Year's Day. | BabyPips |
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers about this topic.
What time does forex start?
The forex market opens for the week on Sunday at 5:00 pm ET, New York local time (10:00 pm UTC, standard time), when the Sydney session starts, per BabyPips, with OANDA stating the same open in EST terms. It runs until Friday 5:00 pm ET. Source: BabyPips.
What time does forex open on Sunday in ET/UTC?
In ET, the Sunday open is 5:00 pm. In UTC, FOREX.com states the market is open from 10pm on Sunday, when the Sydney session starts; the exact ET/UTC relationship shifts with daylight saving time. Source: FOREX.com.
What time does forex close on Friday?
Friday at 5:00 pm ET, which FOREX.com states as 10:00 pm UTC under the standard-time convention: the retail trading window runs between Sunday at 5:00 pm ET and Friday 5:00 pm ET, and FOREX.com confirms it ends at 10pm on Friday when the New York session closes for the weekend. Source: BabyPips and FOREX.com.
Is forex open 24/7?
Not for retail traders. The interbank market technically never closes, but retail traders can only trade the hours between Sunday at 5:00 pm ET and Friday at 5:00 pm ET; your platform enforces that window and there is no retail weekend trading. Source: BabyPips.
Is forex closed on holidays?
Outside weekends, the entire forex market is typically closed on just two public holidays: Christmas and New Year's Day. Source: BabyPips.
Sources
- Forex Market Hours - Forex Market Time Converter | BabyPips.com babypips.com Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- When is the Best Time for Forex Trading? | OANDA oanda.com Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- Forex Market Hours: When is The Best Time of Day to Trade Forex? - FOREX.com US forex.com Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- Forex Trading Sessions | BabyPips.com babypips.com Retrieved 2026-10-13.