Right as European traders are getting back from their lunch breaks, the U.S. session begins at 8:00 am EST as traders start rolling into the office.
Just like Asia and Europe, the U.S. session has one major financial center that the markets keep their eyes on.
We’re talking of course, about the “City That Never Sleeps!New York City baby! The concrete jungle where dreams are made of!
About 17% of all forex transactions happen in New York.
Some traders also refer to the New York session as the “North American” trading session.
That’s because aside from New York, there are major financial centers open in North America as well, such as Toronto and Chicago.
Below is a table of the New York session pip ranges of the major currency pairs.
| Pair | New York |
|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 77 |
| GBP/USD | 68 |
| USD/JPY | 34 |
| AUD/USD | 68 |
| NZD/USD | 62 |
| USD/CAD | 67 |
| USD/CHF | 56 |
| EUR/JPY | 72 |
| GBP/JPY | 77 |
| AUD/JPY | 71 |
| EUR/GBP | 50 |
| EUR/CHF | 46 |
These pip values were calculated using averages of past data. Take note that these are NOT ABSOLUTE VALUES and can vary depending on liquidity and other market conditions.
The New York Session Split Into Three
The New York can actually be divided into three sessions:
- Morning session: 8am – 12pm EST
- Lunch session (or lunch hour): 12pm – 1pm EST
- Afternoon session: 1pm – 4pm EST
Most of the action happens during the morning session.
Technically, the New York afternoon session doesn’t really end until 5pm EST, but trading activity typically dies when the U.S. stock market closes which is 4pm so it’s not really safe to trade beyond that time.
Tips on Trading the New York Session
Here are some tips you should know about trading during the New York session:
- There is high liquidity during the morning, as it overlaps with the European session.
- Most economic reports are released near the start of the New York session. Remember, about 85% of all trades involve the dollar, so whenever big-time U.S. economic data is released, it has the potential to move the markets.
- Once European markets close shop, liquidity, and volatility tend to die down during the afternoon U.S. session.
- There is very little movement Friday afternoon, as Asian traders are out singing in karaoke bars while European traders head off to the pub to watch the soccer match.
- Also on Fridays, there is the chance of reversals in the second half of the session, as U.S. traders close their positions ahead of the weekend, in order to limit exposure to any weekend news.
Which Pairs Should You Trade?
Take note that there will be a TON of liquidity as both the U.S. and European markets will be open at the same time.
You can bet that banks and multinational companies are burning up the telephone wires.
This allows you to trade virtually any pair, although it would be best if you stuck to the major and minor pairs and avoid those weird ones.Also, because the U.S. dollar is on the other side of the majority of transactions, everybody will be paying attention to the U.S. data that is released.
Should these reports come in better or worse than expected, it could dramatically shake up the markets, as the dollar will be jumping up and down.
Confused about which sessions start when? We made the next section just for you!
