What is Trade Forex?
Forex is short for foreign exchange – the transaction of changing one currency into another currency. This process can be performed for a variety of reasons including commercial, tourism and to enable international trade.
Forex is traded on the forex market, which is open to buy and sell currencies 24 hours a day, five days a week, and is used by banks, businesses, investment firms, hedge funds, and retail traders.
What Is The Best Time To Trade Forex In South Africa?
Best time to Trade Forex – TU Research
The first step to determining the best time to trade forex in South Africa is to determine when the best times are to trade overall. Traders always believed that the times with the most liquidity and volatility in the market were the best times to trade forex.
Generally, these times fall on Thursdays and Fridays and, as a result, many traders believed that these days were the best days to trade forex.
However, at Traders Union, our experts have conducted research and can now disprove this myth. During this research, our experts interviewed 2,080 traders of whom 81% were men and 19% were women.
In the cohort, 4% of the traders have been trading forex for over 10 years, 28% have been trading for more than 5 years, 38% have been trading between 3 and 5 years, 21% have been trading between 1 and 3 years, and 9% have been trading for less than a year.
In respect of returns, 3% of the cohort showed an average monthly return of up to 15%, 17% showed monthly returns of up to 10%, 29% showed monthly returns of up to 5%, 32% showed monthly returns of up to 3%, and 19% showed monthly returns of up to 1%. To achieve these returns, 44% of the traders used intraday strategies while 44% used long-term strategies.
Now, based on the above research and the responses from the traders, what is the best time to trade forex? Interestingly, an overwhelming majority of traders stated that their most profitable day of the week to trade forex was Wednesday.
In respect of the best time to trade forex, the majority (38%) of the traders stated that the best time to trade was between 6 am GMT (1 am EST) and 12 pm GMT (7 am EST). In turn, 31% of the traders stated that the best time for them to trade was between 6 pm GMT (1 pm EST) and 12 am GST (7 pm EST).
Now, if we combine the above results, it appears that Wednesdays are the best days to trade between 6 am GMT (1 am EST) and 12 pm GMT (7 am EST). It also appears that Thursdays are the second-best day to trade at the same times mentioned.
In addition, other results from the research show that, for long-term strategies, Wednesdays and Mondays are the most successful days for trading. Moreover, for short-term strategies, Wednesdays and Thursdays are best.
Best Time for Forex Day Trading in South Africa
Now, based on the results of the research, we can establish what the best times are to trade forex in South Africa.
Here, the best times to trade forex are on Wednesdays and Thursdays. When it comes to specific times, the best times to trade are 8 am South African time to 2 pm South African time and between 8 pm South African time and 2 am South African time.
What is the hardest month to trade forex?
This makes the autumn months the best time of the year to trade Forex. By the second half of December, trading activity slows down – much like in August.
The few weeks before and after Christmas are the slowest. It’s not until mid-January that the markets start to pick up.
What time is forex most volatile in South Africa?
Forex trading in South Africa is convenient due to the country’s time zone, which allows for easy access to global markets.
The most active time in the Forex market is during the overlap between the London and New York sessions, which fall between 2 pm and 6 pm in South Africa Standard Time.