CurrenlyzerThe Sunday Open: What Happens in the First Hours of the Week
On Sunday the forex major pairs and gold have candles only in the last hours of the day, from about 21:00 to 23:00 UTC. Before that the market is closed. Crypto trades all through Sunday.
The first hours of the week are special: the market reopens after the weekend, the prices can gap away from Friday’s close and few participants are there. The table below shows only the Sunday hours in which the symbols actually traded in the last 60 days, and how much they moved on average.
Sunday: which hours have candles, and how much they move
| Symbol | Hours with trading (UTC) | Hours | Average range, first hour | Average range, last hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAX (GER40) | 22:00–00:00 UTC | 2 | 42.9 points | 51.6 points |
| Nasdaq 100 (NAS100) | 22:00–00:00 UTC | 2 | 121 points | 89.5 points |
| Silver (XAGUSD) | 22:00–00:00 UTC | 2 | 56.0 pips | 33.7 pips |
| Gold (XAUUSD) | 22:00–00:00 UTC | 2 | 159 pips | 119 pips |
| AUD/USD | 21:00–00:00 UTC | 3 | 16.6 pips | 7.83 pips |
| EUR/USD | 21:00–00:00 UTC | 3 | 11.0 pips | 9.30 pips |
| GBP/USD | 21:00–00:00 UTC | 3 | 9.10 pips | 9.63 pips |
| USD/JPY | 21:00–00:00 UTC | 3 | 16.6 pips | 20.1 pips |
| Bitcoin (BTCUSD) | all 24 hours | 24 | 172 points | 417 points |
| Ethereum (ETHUSD) | all 24 hours | 24 | 8.01 points | 17.7 points |
The table counts only Sunday hours in which the symbol traded in at least three of the last 60 days. Symbols with fewer hours are closed for the rest of the day. Crypto has candles in all 24 hours. The averages are in the unit of each symbol (pips for forex and metals, points otherwise).
The first candles of the forex week are thin: the hours just after the open have a small range because few participants are present, and the first Monday hours then build up. That is why the dashboard leaves the Sunday open out of the full-day averages and shows no bars for the hours when the market is closed.
Why the edges of the week are different
The first hours of the week have few participants and the last hours of the week have many leaving. Both mean thinner order books: the same order moves the price further, but fewer orders arrive. In our data the ranges of those hours are small for the forex pairs and gold, and very different for crypto, which never closes. The table lets you compare them.
How this is used in Currenlyzer
The dashboard leaves the thin Sunday open out of the full-day averages, and it shows no bars for hours when a symbol is not traded. Without those rules, a Sunday with two hours of candles would pull down the average of the whole week.
How to check this in Currenlyzer
- Open the symbol in the analyzer. The hour table starts with today’s weekday.
- Choose the weekday you trade and the history: 7 days are open to everyone, 14, 30 and 60 days come with a free account.
- Look at the number of days counted under each hour. An hour with few days is a hint, not a pattern.
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 forex market open on Sunday?
In our data the first hourly candles of the week are at 21:00 and 22:00 UTC for most major pairs. Gold and many indices have candles from 22:00.
Why is there nothing on Sunday midday?
Because the market is closed. The dashboard shows no bars for closed hours instead of zeros, so they do not bring the averages down.
Does crypto trade on Sunday?
Yes, around the clock.
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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.