Gold trades nearly 24 hours a day
At most brokers XAUUSD opens late on Sunday (New York time) and closes on Friday afternoon, with a short daily break around the rollover at 5 pm New York time. Exact hours depend on your broker, and MetaTrader charts show your broker's server time, which is often two or three hours ahead of GMT. Check it once so the times below line up with your chart.
The three trading sessions
Trading activity moves around the world with the business day. Here are the main sessions in their local time and in Indian Standard Time (IST). The UK and US move their clocks for summer, so the IST times shift by an hour for part of the year.
| Session | Local time | IST, UK and US summer time | IST, winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia (Tokyo) | 9:00–18:00 Tokyo | 5:30–14:30 | 5:30–14:30 |
| London | 8:00–17:00 London | 12:30–21:30 | 13:30–22:30 |
| New York | 8:00–17:00 New York | 17:30–2:30 | 18:30–3:30 |
| London and New York overlap | 8:00–12:00 New York | 17:30–21:30 | 18:30–22:30 |
Summer time runs roughly from late March to late October in the UK and from mid March to early November in the US. For a few weeks each spring and autumn the two are out of step, and the overlap moves by an hour.
When gold moves most
The London open
Liquidity arrives when European banks and funds start trading. Gold often breaks out of its Asian range in the first hour or two after 8:00 London time.
The London and New York overlap
This is usually the busiest window of the day. Both of the world's biggest gold trading centres are open, US economic data comes out at 8:30 New York time (18:00 IST in summer, 19:00 IST in winter), and US stocks open at 9:30 New York time. Many gold traders focus only on these four hours.
The London gold price auctions
The LBMA Gold Price is set in auctions at 10:30 and 15:00 London time. Big physical and institutional orders cluster around them, and short, sharp moves are common near those times.
When to be careful
- Around the daily rollover (5 pm New York, 2:30 IST in summer and 3:30 IST in winter): spreads can widen sharply for several minutes, which can trigger stops.
- The first minutes after a major US release: price can spike in both directions. See how news moves gold.
- Late New York and early Asia: volume thins and price often drifts in a narrow range, which suits range trading but punishes breakout entries.
- Monday open and Friday afternoon: weekend news can gap the price on Monday, and Friday afternoon often turns quiet as traders close positions.
- US and UK bank holidays: fewer participants means thinner markets and less reliable moves.
Match the session to your strategy
| Style | Session that tends to suit it |
|---|---|
| Breakout trading | London open, New York open |
| News trading | 8:30 New York data, FOMC days |
| Range trading | Asian session |
| Swing trading | Any, with entries planned around the busy hours |
A practical routine for traders in India
- Around 12:00–13:00 IST, mark the Asian session high and low on your chart.
- Watch how price reacts to that range at the London open (12:30 or 13:30 IST).
- Check the economic calendar for US releases at 18:00 or 19:00 IST.
- Do your main trading in the overlap, roughly 17:30–21:30 IST in summer.
- Size every trade with the lot size calculator, since overlap moves can be large.