Many believe that the Bitcoin market was the first to operate around the clock. That is not exactly accurate, though. The global FX market has been open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, for decades. Find out the opening and closing times for the currency market by reading on.

Forex Market Trading Times in India:

The FX market has a wide range of products. In some ways, it involves hedge funds, central banks, and occasionally even tourists. A part of the bigger FX market that you are interested in is the currency trading market.

A site where people can buy and sell currency derivatives is the Indian currency trading market. Exchanges, brokers, and participants including companies, banks, and individual traders like you make up this market.

You can trade currency combinations with or without INR in the quotation. This distinction is important since both types of currency pairings have different forex market hours today in India.

However, there is a large overlap in the trading hours for all currencies. Below is a detailed explanation of the INR pairings and cross-currency pairs’ forex market opening and closing times in India.

Indian Rupee Currency Trading Hours:

During these trading hours, forex traders in India can buy and trade futures for the following four currency pairs: GBP-INR, EUR-INR, USD-INR, and JPY-INR. For these pairings, a common acronym is FCY-INR, where FCY stands for foreign currency.

  • Time of Opening: 9:00 a.m.
  • Time of Closure: 5:00 p.m.

Three and a half hours after Japan’s opening, and two and a half hours after the currency markets in Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore open, the exchange opens for business at 9:00 a.m. in India.

This is noteworthy since overlapping markets have been shown to affect some currency pairings’ liquidity and volatility, especially when the quote or base is traded regularly, as the JPY.

There is a big overlap with the European currency markets, especially Germany and the UK, by the time the Indian forex market closes at 5:00 p.m. for INR pairs. It is commonly known that this affects the currency pairs GBP-INR and EUR-INR.

Cross-Currency Trading Hours:

Three cross-currency combinations are offered as futures contracts: EUR-USD, GBP-USD, and USD-JPY. These forex trading pairings employ two separate currencies as the baseline and quotation, as the name suggests. Therefore, USD is included in each of them.

Because of this, some cross-currency pairings have different forex market hours than INR pairings. For instance, they coincide with the currency market hours of Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom and are two hours longer.

  • Time of Opening: 9:00 a.m.
  • Time of Closure: 7:30 p.m.

For cross-currency pairings, the currency market duration may be greater, but liquidity may not always be at its best. You will gain from knowing about trading holidays on markets like the NSE, MSE, and BSE now that you have a basic understanding of India’s currency market hours.

For what reason is the forex market seen as being open around the clock?

The FX market is unique in that it is constantly open at all times, anywhere in the world. For example, a currency trader in New Zealand starts their day at 3.30 a.m. IST and ends it at 2.30 a.m. IST. In theory, currency trading occurs six days a week because the North American market begins after midnight in IST. There is a catch, though. Not every pair of currencies has constant liquidity.

There’s a logical reason behind this. Each country uses its own currency, but some use a world currency (such as the EUR). Traders from that country or region are more likely to use their own currency in significant amounts when the forex market is open.

Furthermore, it is known that there is a lot of volatility in the global currency market during times when trading sessions are held in different countries and areas. Therefore, it’s reasonable to predict that someone will start trading currencies at any time of day. Ultimately, a lot of FX times are the same. It’s crucial to understand that not all time is suitable for forex trading, though.

In India, when is the best time to trade forex?

In India, the forex market opens at 9:00 a.m. and closes at 5:00 p.m. Cross-currency trading is available till 7:30 p.m. However, throughout India’s currency market hours, liquidity and fluctuation are not always constant.

Their differences stem from global trade sessions that overlap. This was brought up earlier. The claim is that a currency pair may experience more or less trading activity based on two factors.

The first has to do with a nation’s business hours. For instance, during US currency trading sessions, a currency paired with the USD as the quote or base currency may have a lot of liquidity. Experts surmise that a spike in trading activity is caused by the fact that the currency market timings in India today coincide with several active trading sessions across the globe.

Wrapping Up:

In India, currency trading is open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Cross-currency pairings can be traded until 7:30 p.m., but currency pairings in Indian rupees can only be transacted until 5:00 p.m. The Indian forex market will be closed for 19 days in 2023.

Although there are chances to make money in the currency market, retail traders should exercise caution because of the industry’s global structure and the existence of powerful players that have the ability to outbid smaller rivals.

Disclaimer: Please note that Forex market opening and closing times in India may be subject to change due to various factors. It is advisable to check with your broker or relevant authorities for the most up-to-date information.