Good morning. The London session is the busiest in forex, more than 35% of daily FX volume trades when London is open. That’s more than New York and Tokyo combined.

It’s why breakout traders love mornings in London… and why late sleepers miss half the move.

-Shaun A, Jordon Mellor, Jonathan Kibbler

MARKETS

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If you only knew this last year… you would’ve saved yourself a lot of time and frustration by focusing on the right hours. I used to grind through entire sessions, thinking more screen time meant more opportunity. But the truth is, most of the day’s real movement in FX doesn’t happen all day, it happens in a narrow window.

For intraday traders, the first few hours of the London–New York overlap (roughly 8 a.m. to noon ET) hold the majority of liquidity and volatility. Miss it, and you’re usually left with scraps, sideways chop, fake breakouts, or low-volume drifts. I learned this the hard way, but the data backs it up.

When London and New York are open at the same time, the world’s two biggest financial centers collide. Spreads tighten, volume spikes, and execution improves. This is when institutional orders hit the tape, and when trends either begin or extend. It’s no coincidence that many intraday breakouts start here.
source: investopedia

Despite being less than one-fifth of the 24-hour cycle, the London–New York overlap accounts for 37% of daily FX volume. That’s not a theory, that’s straight from broker flow data. If you’re serious about trading intraday, skipping this window is like sitting out the only quarter of the game that matters. source:oanda

I’ve made this mistake too many times, forcing trades in the quiet hours. After the overlap, the market often drifts, retraces, or just chops sideways. It’s during these low-volume periods that fakeouts eat stops and discipline slips.

Looking back, most of my unnecessary losses came from ignoring this reality.

Knowing this, I’ve reshaped my process. I use session indicators in TradingView and MT4 that mark London, New York, and the overlap in color blocks. It’s a simple trick, but it keeps me aware of when the market is “alive” and when it’s just background noise. With this visual cue, I plan my trades in advance and shut down outside the overlap.

Here’s a shortcut:

Now, at a glance, your chart will tell you when the real game is on.

The market doesn’t reward presence all day; it rewards sharp focus during high-impact hours. If you only knew this last year, you’d be trading fewer hours, but smarter hours. The London–New York overlap is where the market breathes. Miss it, and you might miss the move.

-Shaun A

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TRADER INSIGHTS

So… you’ve probably seen me panicking recently.

I did too, right there on camera.

A few weeks ago, we released an episode of Funded Freedom where I stepped completely out of my comfort zone. I wasn’t just talking shop, oh no, I was on the hot seat, under the pressure of live trading while cameras rolled. It was uncomfortable. If you've watched it, you might’ve seen the sweat beads, the "where’s the exit" mindset, the internal voice saying, “Why am I doing this again?” That was me, front and center.

Trading behind closed doors is one thing. You know the charts, the tools, your strategy, it's familiar. Doing it under a spotlight is a different animal. There’s a vulnerability there that hits hard. Making those split-second decisions knowing others are watching how you handle the pressure, how you respond to losses or unexpected moves, that felt naked.

That raw exposure was exactly why I did it. Because real growth doesn't come from polished success stories, it comes from showing the messy middle.

In the episode, what you see isn’t just technical analysis and clean exits. There are shaky hands, self-doubt, second-guessing. There are moments where clarity fades and only instinct takes over. That’s what real trading looks like. Not the awe-inspiring charts or the strategic cold calls. It’s the internal battle, the fear, and then pushing through.

By sharing it, I wanted to show something we all go through but rarely admit: that stepping into new terrain (publicly, emotionally, professionally) often feels deeply uncomfortable.

It’s one thing to talk about resilience or mindset in abstract terms. It’s another to visibly grapple with it in real time. By putting those moments on display, I hope to remind others (traders or not) that discomfort isn’t a flaw. It’s a signal that growth is happening.

Having it on camera wasn’t completely for clicks. It was about putting the real behind the polished narrative: that even people who look confident can be internally flailing and still move forward anyway.

The link to the episode is right here, no frills, no illusions:

This is my unvarnished moment. I’m putting the “uncomfortable” out there because that’s exactly where growth happens.

Thanks for reading through the messy brilliance of it all.

-Jordon Mellor

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Answer: Forex Market Sessions