Economy
Best Time to Trade Forex in Nigeria
If you wonder when it’s best to trade Forex to get the best results and what the best hours to maximize your returns are, this article is for you. Read on to get the answers to these questions and find out the best trading hours.
While it can be a matter of personal preferences when to trade, and you can allocate your time depending on your daily schedule, let’s see when it’s best to enter the market to make higher profits and when it’s best to keep off trading.
Best days to trade Forex
You may have noticed that on some particular days, markets move more actively than on others. Take a look at the table below and check out the average volatility in pips for three major currency pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY) depending on the business day:
As we can see, all three pairs register the highest volatility on Tuesday and Wednesday. With that in mind, we recommend entering the market during periods of high market volatility. This way, you’ll be able to take advantage of more trading opportunities and maximize your profit even if you are using a trading bot.
Trading sessions
Now that we’ve figured out the best trading days, let’s talk about the most favourable trading time. Trading in the foreign exchange market takes place 24 hours a day five days a week. However, currency pairs can move at a different pace at different times. Although Forex is a decentralized market, a significant amount of money comes from banks, and they stick to a certain schedule.
Forex trading sessions can be divided into four major groups:
- North American (New York)
- Asian (Tokyo)
- European (London)
- Pacific (Sydney)
At the beginning of every session, the currencies are gaining momentum:
During the European session, all pairs containing the euro and the pound sterling demonstrate high volatility, with EUR/USD, EUR/GBP and EUR/CHF showing the largest trading volumes. Very often, the trend can commence in the European trading session and continue into the American session.
In the American session, the pairs containing the US dollar are on the rise: EUR/USD, USD/CHF and USD/JPY. During this time, the Canadian dollar, the USD/CAD pair, comes to life. During the American session, the trend may reverse. Besides, important economic reports are generally released in the evening. Those can trigger volatility spikes in currency pairs that include the US dollar.
In the Asian and Pacific session, the pairs containing the Japanese yen and NZD/USD are especially active. Throughout the night session, the market is tranquil since US and European banks are closed. The volatility is low, so the price often fails to gain momentum and break any key levels. So, the market is usually flat with the price trading within the range. For this reason, most traders prefer not to trade at night.
Best intervals for day trading
9.20 – 9.50 – The beginning of the European session. Trading volume is significant. While this trading interval offers a lot of trading opportunities, it’s highly risky as well. If you are a novice trader, we suggest that you don’t rush into the market at this point. Wait till the volatility settles a bit.
9.40 – 10.10 – Trading volumes are still significant, the quotes are moving fast, liquidity is sufficient. Now that the situation has already stabilized, it’s the perfect time to enter the market and place your orders.
10.25 – 11.10 – Volatility decreases, market participants lock in their profits and close their trades. This time interval is the best to start scheduling your next trades.
11.15 – 14.15 – Most breakouts occurring during this period are very inaccurate. Prices start moving sideways. Feel free to take a break. It’s best that you refrain from trading at this time.
14.10 – 15.25 – Most trends have already formed. There’s no sense in opening your trades now. But if you do, trade with the trend and be vigilant. Around 15:30, the trend may pause or even reverse.
15.20 -16.00 – The last 30 minutes of the day session, major market participants start adjusting their portfolios. It may seem that high volatility can bring you some good profits, we’d recommend staying on the safe side as the trading environment is too unpredictable now. Avoiding and managing risks is part of smart trading, remember?
All in all: The usual best trading time is 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. – it’s when trading hours of the New York and London exchanges overlap. These two trading hubs account for more than 50% of all Forex transactions.
When you SHOULD NOT trade
It’s funny how everyone is looking for the best time to trade. And few people think when it gets too risky to trade and when it’s better to avoid the market. It’s highly undesirable that you enter the market on:
- By the end of the week, we all get tired and tend to make illogical decisions. It can be hard to predict market behaviour at the end of the week. Friday is one of those days when the majority of traders suffer losses. Some traders lock in their profits to safely leave for the weekend. Others, on the contrary, jump into the market to make quick money. Prices start going up and down, especially in the afternoon, which can result in substantial losses.
- Banks are usually closed on holidays, market activity is low. On holidays, the risk of losing your deposit increases. You might be hoping for a spike in prices after the holidays, but the market likes to make adjustments. And they are usually not in your favour.
- News releases. We are going to offer you some obvious advice that no one takes anyway: do not trade the news. You can’t predict with 100% accuracy where the price will move after the release of significant news, a statement or a report. At this point, the price movement is often chaotic. So, we recommend exiting the market 1.5 hours before the publication. Refrain from trading for about the same amount of time after the news is released.
Summing up
While Forex is open around the clock, all traders are human beings who need their rest. That’s why it’s essential to know the trading sessions schedule and market hours that determine volatility peaks. Enter the market when it demonstrates a strong momentum. This way, you’ll be able to monitor price developments better and identify trading instruments with the highest profit potential.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The duo of Geo-Fluids Plc and Afriland Properties Plc propelled the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange up 0.13 per cent on Friday, January 10.
Investors gained N1.4 billion during the trading session after the market capitalisation of the bourse ended at N1.053 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.052 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased at the close of business by 4.07 points to wrap the session at 3,073.93 points compared with 3,069.86 points recorded at the previous session.
Geo-Fluids added 25 Kobo to its value to close at N4.85 per unit compared with the previous session’s N4.60 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 24 Kobo to close at N16.25 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N16.01 per share.
There was a 35.4 per cent fall in the volume of securities traded in the session as investors exchanged 4.3 million units compared to 6.6 million units traded in the preceding session, the value of shares traded yesterday went down by 37.4 per cent to N17.2 million from the N27.5 million recorded a day earlier, and the number of deals decreased by 47.2 per cent to 19 deals from the 36 deals recorded in the preceding day.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI )Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.
IGI Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira witnessed a depreciation on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Friday, January 10.
According to data from the FMDQ Exchange, the local currency weakened against the greenback yesterday by 0.12 per cent or N1.80 to sell for N1,543.03/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,541.23/$1.
The pressure on the domestic currency came as the access granted to the Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to purchase FX from the official market through the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform prepares to end next week, precisely on January 19.
The CBN had given a 42-day window to the operators to access the platform to help stabilise the Naira in December, and this expires next week.
On Friday, the Nigerian currency tumbled against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N30.78 to sell for N1,889.29/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,858.51/£1, but gained N5.48 against the Euro to finish at N1,583.81/€1, in contrast to Thursday’s rate of N1,589.29/€1.
As for the parallel market, the Nigerian Naira remained stable against the US Dollar during the trading session at N1,650/$1, according to data obtained by Business Post.
In the cryptocurrency market, it was bearish as the US economy added 256,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, topping forecasts for 160,000 and up from 212,000 in November (revised from an originally reported 227,000).
However, the readings came after a number of recent economic reports triggered a broad-market pullback across asset classes such as crypto as investors quickly scaled back the idea of a continued series of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2025.
Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to trade at $0.921, Solana (SOL) slumped by 2.8 per cent to $185.93, Ethereum (ETH) depreciated by 1.4 per cent to $3,233.27, Litecoin (LTC) lost 1.3 per cent to finish at $103.62, Dogecoin (DOGE) shed 0.5 per cent to sell at $0.3315, Bitcoin (BTC), waned by 0.2 per cent to $94,154.43, and Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 0.1 per cent to $693.30.
On the flip side, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 1.5 per cent to settle at $2.34, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) sold flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Profit-takers took control of Customs Street on Friday, plunging it by 0.08 per cent at the close of trading activities.
The sell-offs were across all the key sectors of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on last trading session of the week.
The insurance space went down by 1.53 per cent, the banking index depreciated by 0.41 per cent, the consumer goods sector weakened by 0.16 per cent, and the energy counter slumped by 0.08 per cent, while the industrial goods sector closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) tumbled by 79.68 points to 105,451.06 points from 105,530.74 points and the market capitalisation retreated by N48 billion to N64.303 trillion from N64.351 trillion.
Yesterday, investors traded 1.5 billion shares worth N19.4 billion in 12,877 deals compared with the 489.5 million shares worth N13.1 billion transacted in 13,010 deals in the preceding day, indicating a decline in the number of deals by 1.02 deals and a rise in the trading volume and value by 203.14 per cent and 48.09 per cent, respectively.
Wema Bank was the busiest stock with 976.2 million units valued at N9.8 billion, Tantalizers traded 53.0 million units worth 129.6 million, Universal Insurance sold 34.8 million units for N26.8 million, Access Holdings exchanged 33.9 million units valued at N843.8 million, and Nigerian Breweries traded 27.3 million units worth N873.3 million.
The heaviest loss was suffered by Sunu Assurances with a decline of 9.99 per cent to trade at N7.30, Eunisell shed 9.96 per cent to N17.35, SAHCO crumbled by 9.87 per cent to N30.15, DAAR Communications plunged by 9.28 per cent to 88 Kobo, and Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 7.04 per cent to N1.32.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing gained 10.00 per cent to close at N4.51, Honeywell Flour appreciated by 9.99 per cent to N10.02, Trans Nationwide Express jumped by 9.89 per cent to N2.00, RT Briscoe rose by 9.83 per cent to N2.57, and Secure Electronic Technology grew by 9.46 per cent to 81 Kobo.
Business Post reports that the bourse ended with 33 price gainers and 25 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
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