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The forex market runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, but not every hour is the same. Saudi Arabia uses Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+3) all year and never changes its clocks, while London and New York do. Here are the sessions in Riyadh time and the hours that matter most.
The trading week in Riyadh time
The week opens on Sunday at 5 pm New York time: Monday 00:00 in Riyadh while the US is on summer time (mid-March to early November) and Monday 01:00 in winter. It closes at the same New York time on Friday, which is 00:00 or 01:00 on Saturday morning in Riyadh.
So the Saudi weekend and the forex weekend overlap only on Saturday: Friday is a full forex trading day, and on Sunday, a working day in the Kingdom, the forex market is still closed. The Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) has its own hours, Sunday to Thursday.
Main sessions in Riyadh time
| Session | Summer (London BST / US EDT) | Winter (GMT / EST) |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 03:00 – 12:00 | 03:00 – 12:00 |
| London | 10:00 – 19:00 | 11:00 – 20:00 |
| New York | 15:00 – 00:00 | 16:00 – 01:00 |
| London–New York overlap | 15:00 – 19:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 |
For a few weeks in March and in October and November, the UK and the US change their clocks on different dates, so London or New York can be an hour different from this table for a short time.
The busiest hours
- London–New York overlap (about 15:00–19:00 Riyadh time): the most active part of the day for EUR/USD, GBP/USD and gold, usually with the tightest spreads.
- London morning (from 10:00 or 11:00): European pairs start moving.
- Late night to early morning: mostly the Asian session; quieter for most major pairs.
News times to know
Major US data comes out at 8:30 am New York time: 15:30 in Riyadh during US summer time and 16:30 in winter, including the monthly jobs report. Prices can jump and spreads widen around these releases.
Gold, oil and indices
Not every instrument follows the forex hours. Gold, oil and stock indices have their own sessions and daily breaks. In MetaTrader, right-click a symbol and open its specification to see the exact hours. Platform differences are in MT4 versus MT5.
Sources
Checked in October 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.