CurrenlyzerLondon Session Forex: How Much the Majors Move in Each Hour
The London session (about 07:00 to 16:00 UTC) holds the biggest share of the day’s movement for the euro, sterling and Swiss franc pairs, and its first hours after the open are among the busiest of the whole day.
London is the largest forex centre, and trading there starts when the Asian session is winding down. The first hours after the London open are where many pairs make their first large move of the day. This article measures how large, pair by pair, from the last 60 days of hourly data.
Pairs ranked inside the London session
| # | Pair | Average hour | % of price | Share of the day | Against a normal hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AUD/JPY | 18.2 pips | 0.16% | 46% | 1.10 times |
| 2 | NZD/USD | 9.17 pips | 0.16% | 46% | 1.11 times |
| 3 | USD/CHF | 13.1 pips | 0.16% | 53% | 1.27 times |
| 4 | EUR/JPY | 26.0 pips | 0.15% | 51% | 1.21 times |
| 5 | USD/JPY | 22.6 pips | 0.14% | 47% | 1.14 times |
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For 12 of the 12 pairs the average hour inside the London session is busier than the pair’s average hour of the whole day.
Inside the London session the average hourly range of AUD/JPY is 18.2 pips (0.16% of price), the largest of the twelve pairs. The smallest belongs to EUR/GBP (0.08%). "Against a normal hour" divides the session’s average hour by the pair’s average hour over the whole day: 1.00 means the session hour is as busy as an average hour.
How to read the table
"Average hour" is the average range of one hourly candle inside the session, in pips or points. "% of price" is the same range divided by the price, which is what lets different pairs be compared. "Share of the day" is the part of the whole day’s hourly movement that falls inside the session hours. "Against a normal hour" compares a session hour with the average hour of the same pair over the whole day.
What to do with it
If you trade one session, use the table to choose pairs that actually move in it. If you trade all day, use it to see where a pair does most of its work. A pair with a small share in your session is a pair that waits for another one. The dashboard shows the same measurement hour by hour for each weekday.
How to check this in Currenlyzer
- Open the scanner. It lists every symbol with its reading for the current hour: Busy, Normal or Quiet.
- Sort by the busiest now or by the usual range, and filter by currency.
- Click a symbol to open its analyzer, where the hours of every weekday and the number of days counted are shown.
How we count
The numbers come from the live price feed of Currenlyzer: one-minute prices are built into hourly and daily candles, all in UTC. The range of a candle is its high minus its low. We use finished candles only, and we leave out hours when the market is closed and days that are too thin to count (the first hours of the Sunday open, short holiday days), so a closed hour is never averaged in as zero. Averages cover the last 30 days for the daily range and the last 60 days for hours, unless the text says otherwise. Pips follow the dashboard: one pip is 0.0001 on most pairs, 0.01 on yen pairs and 0.10 on gold. The same method is used in the dashboard.
Frequently asked questions
When does the London session open and close?
In Currenlyzer the London session covers the hourly candles from 07:00 to 16:59 UTC. Local London time is one hour later during summer time.
Which pairs move most in the London session?
The table on this page ranks the major pairs by their average hourly range inside the London hours.
Is the London open the busiest hour?
For many pairs the busiest hour is one of the first London hours or the start of the overlap with New York. The chart shows which, for the last 60 days.
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Historical statistics for information only. This is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell. Past patterns do not predict future moves. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss. Read the full disclaimer.