Why session overlap matters#
When London and New York are both active, more participants may be quoting major pairs. That can change liquidity, spread behavior, update frequency and reaction to scheduled macro releases.
Daylight-saving time changes the clock#
Regional daylight-saving changes do not always happen on the same date. A fixed local-hour claim can therefore become stale, so readers should verify current UTC offsets and official market calendars.
What not to infer#
A busy session is not proof of direction, volatility or execution quality. Do not infer an entry, exit, leverage level or personal trading schedule from a session-overlap description.
Sources and references#
Use these direct research and official references to verify definitions, scope and limitations.
- Time-varying liquidity in foreign exchange — Journal of Monetary Economics
- Trading Patterns and Prices in the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market — The Journal of Finance
- Survey of North American Foreign Exchange Volume — Foreign Exchange Committee, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Key principles#
Liquidity is conditional
Participation can rise during overlaps, but holidays, news and market stress can still reduce usable liquidity.
UTC first
Compare sessions in UTC before converting them to a local timezone or daylight-saving rule.
Context, not timing advice
MarketPulse explains observed conditions and does not provide a trading timetable.