AUDUSD Trading Hours & Best Sessions 2024

Four sessions shape the AUDUSD week. Sydney opens at 22:00 UTC and runs to 07:00 UTC, immediately followed by Tokyo from 00:00 to 09:00 UTC — meaning these two overlap for a full nine hours across the Asian time zone. London enters at 08:00 UTC and closes at 17:00 UTC. New York runs 13:00 to 22:00 UTC, overlapping with London from 13:00 to 17:00 UTC.

AUDUSD is unusual among major pairs: it draws genuine institutional interest during Asian hours, not just during the Western sessions. Australia's commodity exports — iron ore, coal, LNG — tie the AUD directly to Asian economic activity, so Chinese economic data releases at 01:00–02:00 UTC can move AUDUSD as sharply as a US NFP print.

The single most active window for AUDUSD is the London–New York overlap: 13:00–17:00 UTC (9:00–13:00 ET / 23:00–03:00 AEDT). Institutional order flow from both continents collides here, producing the day's largest average candles and tightest spreads. A 2023 analysis of intraday AUDUSD volume confirmed this four-hour window accounts for roughly 35% of daily tick activity.

The Sydney–Tokyo overlap (00:00–07:00 UTC / 10:00–17:00 AEDT / 09:00–16:00 JST) is the second-best window specifically for AUD. RBA rate decisions, Australian employment data, and Chinese PMI releases all land inside this range. If your strategy targets fundamental catalysts rather than raw volume, this session deserves serious attention.

Avoid 07:00–08:00 UTC. Sydney has closed, Tokyo is winding down, and London hasn't opened. Spreads widen, order books thin, and stop hunts become more common in that dead zone.