The trading day: Asia, London and New York
Gold trades around the clock on weekdays, but not every hour is the same.
Gold trades almost all day from Monday to Friday, passing from one financial centre to the next. Traders split the day into three sessions, named after the cities that are awake.
The three sessions
- Asia, led by Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Often the quietest, though Chinese buying can move gold.
- London, the centre of the physical gold market. Volume picks up sharply when it opens.
- New York, where US data lands and the futures market is busiest. The overlap with London is usually the most active stretch of the day.
Why it matters
More traders means more orders, so moves tend to be bigger and quicker when London and New York are both open. Big US releases come out at 8:30am New York time, which is why that hour is so often when gold jumps or drops.
A move in a quiet Asian session can fade once London arrives. A move during the London and New York overlap is backed by far more trading.