Forex Session Times in the Philippines - Best Time to Trade Forex

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Best Time to Trade Forex in Philippines:

  • The overlap of London & New York sessions from 8:00 pm - 12:00 am PHPST is often best for trading with high liquidity and volatility.

As the foreign exchange (Forex) market operates 24 hours a day, traders around the world have the flexibility to trade at various times based on their location and preferred market sessions. However, not all times are equally optimal for conducting trades. For Filipino Forex traders in particular, it is important to understand the currency market hours relative to the local time zones and consider when liquidity and volatility are highest. This article examines the classical Forex trading sessions based on major financial centers, explores how these sessions correspond with Philippine Time, and identifies the best times for local traders to participate in the market.

  • What currency pairs are best to trade in the Philippines?

    High volume pairs like EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD tend to be the most liquid options.

  • Is Forex trading allowed on weekends in the Philippines?

    No, Forex trading is closed from Friday at 11:00 pm PHPST until Sunday at 5:00 pm PHPST.

  • What session has the most significant trading volume?

    The London session sees the highest average trading volume, followed by New York. But volume peaks when sessions overlap.

  • Is trading slower during Asian Forex hours?

    Yes, Asian sessions are slower overall but see spikes around news events and between 1:00-4:00 am PHPST.

Classical Forex Trading Sessions

The rates of various currencies throughout the world are affected during a trading session, which is a period of time when the banks and trading platforms of one or more countries located in the same geographic area actively trade on the Forex market. Trading sessions that overlap each other often have a big impact on the liquidity and volatility of the market.

FX Sessions

FX Sessions

To determine the busiest and most volatile time for trading foreign exchange, Traders Union looked at the key trading sessions in Asia (Tokyo), the Pacific Region (Sydney), Europe (London), and America (New York). The trading sessions in the aforementioned financial hubs make up more than 65% of the global FX market in terms of volume. 35% of the global liquidity is held in London, 20% in New York, 6% in Tokyo, and 4% in Sydney.

Time Zones in the Philippines: Forex Trading Sessions

Traders in the Philippines can access the global forex market by participating in different trading sessions that are based on different time zones. Here are the sessions you need to be on the lookout for.

Asian Forex Session in the Philippines

The Asian forex session starts at 7:00 AM Philippine Standard Time (PHT) and ends at 4:00 PM PHT. This session is known for its high liquidity and volatility due to the active participation of major financial centers in Asia, such as Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Traders from the Philippines can capitalize on this session by engaging in transactions involving currency pairs like USD/JPY, AUD/USD, and NZD/USD.

European (London) Forex Session in the Philippines

The European forex session starts at 4:00 PM PHT and ends at 2:30 AM PHT. This period is distinguished by its considerable volatility due to its intersection with the Asian trading session and the commencement of trading in London, the world's most significant foreign exchange market. The best currency pairs for Philippine traders to trade during this session are EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/CHF.

New York Forex Session in the Philippines

The New York Forex session starts at 8:00 PM PHT and ends at 4:00 AM PHT the next day. This session is known for its high liquidity and volatility, as it overlaps with the European session and includes the opening of the New York market. Philippine traders can take advantage of this session by trading currency pairs such as USD/CAD, USD/CHF, and USD/JPY.

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What is the Best Time to Trade Forex in the Philippines?

Even though each exchange runs separately, they all deal in the same currencies. As a result, there are much more traders actively buying and selling a particular currency when exchanges in two markets are open. All open exchanges in the currency market are immediately affected by the bids and requests on one exchange. Because of this, market spreads are narrower and volatility is higher during the following windows:

3:00 AM to 4:00 AM EST, when both the Tokyo and London markets are open.

8:00 AM. to 12:00 PM EST, when both the New York and London markets are open.

7:00 PM. to 2:00 AM EST, when both the Tokyo and Sydney markets are open.

Best Time for Forex Day Trading in the Philippines

Naturally, the most advantageous period to trade foreign exchange in any nation is when the market is most volatile and liquid. The Philippines also fit this description. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the optimum times to trade forex are during the breaks between trading sessions. Both a high level of order activity and a greater exchange rate can be seen during these times.

For Filipino traders, the London and New York session overlap is the most significant of the overlaps. There is a lot of liquidity at this time, with the CAD/USD and EUR/USD currency pairings seeing the most action.

Best Forex Pairs to Trade in the Philippines Trading Sessions

The specialists at Trader Union have also spent time investigating the ideal forex pairs to trade during trading sessions in the Philippines. Our team of Traders Union professionals initially examined statistical data on transaction volumes on the Forex market from reliable sources in order to determine the most liquid currency combinations.

The EUR/USD currency pair accounts for 27.95 percent of all trading on the foreign exchange market, according to the Bank for International Settlements. It is followed by USD/JPY, which accounts for 13.34% of the total trading volume. The positions of the following currency pairings are as follows:

GBP/USD — 11.27%

AUD/USD — 6.37%

USD/CAD — 5.22%

USD/CHF — 4.63%

NZD/USD — 4.08%

EUR/JPY — 3.93%

GBP/JPY — 3.57%

EUR/GBP — 2.78%

AUD/JPY — 2.73%

EUR/AUD — 1.8%

All remaining currency pairings account for the remaining 12.33%.

Time to Pause Forex Trading in the Philippines

It should go without saying that just as there are profitable periods to trade forex in the Philippines, there are also unsuccessful ones.

You should generally avoid Friday and Sunday afternoons. On these days, the currency market is normally open. However, with bigger spreads, the liquidity will be relatively limited. After all, there are often not many people trading on the currency market.

Additionally, you want to think about avoiding bank holidays in the currency market. Bank holidays significantly hinder the FX market's ability to maintain liquidity. However, it is significantly worse when these holidays fall on any important business days.

News releases are another sign to stay away from forex trading in the Philippines. It is not a good moment to trade when news of worldwide election outcomes, disasters, national wars, or pronouncements from significant central banks breaks.

Expert opinion

Understanding the various Forex trading sessions and how they relate to your local time zone is crucial for Filipino traders who want to participate in the market at advantageous times. While you can trade around the clock, focusing your activity during key session overlaps like London and New York will provide the highest liquidity and volatility. Keeping an eye on major currency pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY during these times can maximize your opportunities. Of course, taking occasional breaks on weekends and around major news announcements is also wise to avoid unpredictable swings. With the right market knowledge and strategy, Filipino Forex traders can profitably harness global trading activity regardless of their domestic hours.

Oleg Tkachenko

Oleg Tkachenko

Author and expert at Traders Union

Team that worked on the article

Chinmay Soni
Contributor

Chinmay Soni is a financial analyst with more than 5 years of experience in working with stocks, Forex, derivatives, and other assets. As a founder of a boutique research firm and an active researcher, he covers various industries and fields, providing insights backed by statistical data. He is also an educator in the field of finance and technology.

As an author for Traders Union, he contributes his deep analytical insights on various topics, taking into account various aspects.

Dr. BJ Johnson
Dr. BJ Johnson
Developmental English Editor

Dr. BJ Johnson is a PhD in English Language and an editor with over 15 years of experience. He earned his degree in English Language in the U.S and the UK. In 2020, Dr. Johnson joined the Traders Union team. Since then, he has created over 100 exclusive articles and edited over 300 articles of other authors.

The topics he covers include trading signals, cryptocurrencies, Forex brokers, stock brokers, expert advisors, binary options. He has also worked on the ratings of brokers and many other materials.

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Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.