Overlap — 15:30 – 18:30
London and New York trading at the same time: usually the largest volume of the day, the tightest spreads, and most US releases. The meter shows which currency is carrying the move while it runs.
Every time on this page is computed as you load it, from each market's own clock converted to Riyadh time — not read off a fixed table. That is the difference that makes most published session tables wrong for half the year: London and New York change clocks, and yours does not.
The market is open. It closes Saturday at 00:00 Riyadh time — in 9h 41m. Your local time is now 14:18.
Session open: London.
An open market is not an invitation, and a high-liquidity hour is not a signal — measurement, not advice. These figures describe market conditions; what you do with them is your decision alone.
| Session | Riyadh time | Most active currencies |
|---|---|---|
| Asian (Tokyo) | 03:00 – 11:00 | JPY · AUD · NZD |
| London open now | 10:00 – 18:30 | EUR · GBP · CHF |
| New York | 15:30 – 23:00 | USD · CAD |
| Overlap — deepest liquidity | 15:30 – 18:30 | All |
| Dead zone | 23:00 – 03:00 | — |
Saudi Arabia does not observe daylight saving time — the clock stays on UTC+3 all year. London and New York do shift, which is why your session times move by an hour twice a year even though your own clock never changes.
London and New York trading at the same time: usually the largest volume of the day, the tightest spreads, and most US releases. The meter shows which currency is carrying the move while it runs.
Between the New York close and the Tokyo open. Volume falls and spreads usually widen, so the cost of entering is higher. That is a description of conditions, not a rule about them.
The Saudi working week runs Sunday to Thursday, and the forex week opens on Sunday evening — so the week's open lands on your first working day, not on your weekend.
Which authority applies depends on the activity, not on how a firm describes itself. The Capital Market Authority at cma.gov.sa regulates securities business and publishes both the list of authorised persons and warnings about unlicensed firms. The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) at sama.gov.sa has its own remit over banking and money-changing, and has warned about non-resident forex companies conducting banking activity in the Kingdom without a licence. Search the register of the authority that covers the specific activity you are being offered.
We are a measurement tool — not a broker, not a financial adviser, not a legal authority. We do not recommend brokers and take no commission from any. General information, not legal advice. More on the registers and how to search them.
The trading week opens on Monday at 00:00 Riyadh time, as the Asian session starts in Wellington and Sydney ahead of Tokyo. The time is computed from the New York week rather than written down, so it shifts by an hour when US daylight saving changes while your own clock stays put.
It closes on Saturday at 00:00 Riyadh time, with the New York session. Between the close and the next open most retail brokers do not offer trading, and the exact hours vary by broker. The first hour back is usually the thinnest of the week: spreads are wider and price gaps are common.
London runs 10:00 – 18:30 Riyadh time today. Session hours are a market convention rather than a central exchange's opening bell. London is usually the deepest of the three in euro, sterling and Swiss franc pairs.
New York runs 15:30 – 23:00 Riyadh time today, and carries most US economic releases — the ones that move the dollar and the Canadian dollar.
Liquidity is usually deepest while London and New York overlap, which today falls between 15:30 – 18:30 Riyadh time. Spreads are typically tighter in that window and ranges wider, though the detail varies by pair, by news and by broker. The quietest stretch is the dead zone between the New York close and the Tokyo open, 23:00 – 03:00 Riyadh time. This describes market conditions; it is not advice on when to enter or exit.
The Asian (Tokyo) session runs 03:00 – 11:00 Riyadh time. It is the most active for the yen, Australian and New Zealand dollars, and the quietest of the three for European pairs.
Regulation is a question for a licensing authority, not an opinion: the CMA, and SAMA depending on the activity. The practical rule is to search the company name and licence number in the regulator's own public register before depositing anything, rather than trusting a licence badge printed on a broker's website. This is general information, not legal advice.