Which Time of Day Produces the Best Trading Results: How to Use Data to Find the Answer

Most traders assume that a good trading system should be profitable at all times. But the reality is that the Forex market behaves differently during each period of the day. Some periods have high volatility and good liquidity, ideal for trading. Other periods are so quiet that profits are hard to come by, or worse, they generate frequent false signals that lead to losses.

Analysing which time of day you trade best is not difficult, yet most traders never do it. The result is that they waste time and money trading during unsuitable periods. In this article we'll look at how to use your own trading statistics to find accurate answers and adjust your strategy to the windows where you truly have an edge.

Why Time of Day Affects Trading Results

The Forex market is open 24 hours, but that doesn't mean every period is of equal quality. The market divides into major sessions: Asian, European, and American. Each session has distinct price movement characteristics.

The Asian session typically has low volatility, suitable for range trading strategies but not for breakouts. The European session has the highest liquidity, moderate to high volatility, and suits many strategies. The American session, especially when it overlaps with Europe, has the most violent movements, ideal for traders who like speed and volatility.

Beyond sessions, there are other special periods, such as the London open (15:00–16:00 Thai time), which often produces violent spikes, or the period before the New York close (03:00–04:00 Thai time), when institutional position-closing often causes abnormal price movements. If you don't understand these characteristics and trade without regard to time, the chances of encountering situations unsuited to your system are very high.

How to Extract Time-Based Trading Data from Your History

First, you need a complete trading history. If you use a platform like MT5, you can export your trading history as a file. Or if you connect your account to Thaifxbook, the system will automatically store and analyse this data for you, including displaying trading results broken down by time period.

The data you need to examine are: the time you opened each order, the time you closed each order, and the profit or loss of each order. Then group them by time period—for example, divide into four-hour blocks or by session—and calculate the sum and average for each period.

For instance, you might find that you opened 50 orders during 08:00–12:00, making a total profit of 300 USD, and opened 40 orders during 20:00–24:00, making a total loss of 150 USD. This data clearly shows that the morning period has an edge, whilst the late evening may not suit your strategy.

Key Metrics to Examine

• Total profit-loss per time period: Which period produces the most profit? Which tends to lose?
• Win rate per time period: Does the win rate differ across periods? Some periods may have a win rate below 40%, whilst others reach 60%.
• Average win and average loss per time period: Some periods may win often but gain little, or lose rarely but lose heavily.
• Number of trades per time period: Are you overtrading in any period? Sometimes trading less during unsuitable periods is better.

Looking at total profit alone is not enough, because in some periods you may trade very frequently, resulting in high total profit, but when calculated as average profit per trade, it turns out to be lower than other periods where you traded less. So you must examine multiple dimensions together.

Analyse Results and Find the Most Suitable Time Periods

Once you have the data, the next step is to analyse for patterns. Try answering these questions:

Which time period gives you the best results consistently? Not just the period with the highest profit once, but look at which period produces profit frequently, has consistency, and has clearly positive expectancy.

Which time period do you often make mistakes or lose frequently? Perhaps you'll find that late at night when you're tired, or early morning when the market is quiet, are periods where you tend to encounter problems—perhaps because your mental state isn't ready, or the market doesn't suit your strategy.

What kind of time period suits your strategy? If you use a breakout strategy, you need high volatility, so the European and American sessions will be more suitable. But if you trade scalping or range trading, the Asian session may give better results.

Example from a Real Trader

One trader checked his own statistics and found that he traded 200 times over three months, divided into 80 times during 15:00–19:00 (European session) with a total profit of 1,200 USD, 70 times during 20:00–24:00 (overlapping American session) with a profit of 400 USD, and 50 times during other periods with a total loss of 300 USD.

When calculated as average profit per trade, the 15:00–19:00 period gave an average profit of 15 USD per trade, the 20:00–24:00 period gave an average profit of 5.7 USD per trade, and other periods lost an average of 6 USD per trade.

The result is clear: he should focus on trading during 15:00–19:00 as his main period, reduce trading during 20:00–24:00, and stop trading during other periods that tend to lose altogether. This adjustment helped him increase efficiency and reduce risk significantly.

Adjust Your Strategy to Suit the Right Time Periods

Once you know which time periods suit you, the next step is to adjust your strategy clearly. Don't just tell yourself "I'll try to trade during the good periods"—you need clear rules.

Define your main trading periods: Choose one or two time periods that give the best results, and make those your main trading windows. For example, if the data says 15:00–19:00 is best, then trade primarily during this period.

Limit or stop trading during poor periods: If the data says a certain period tends to lose, stop trading during that period altogether, or at least reduce the number of trades significantly and exercise extra caution.

Adjust parameters by time period: Some traders use different parameters for different time periods—for example, using a wider stop loss during high-volatility periods, or using smaller lot sizes during periods where they're less confident.

Allocate Time to Match Your Lifestyle

Another important dimension is the reality of daily life. You may find that 15:00–19:00 gives good results, but you work a regular job and can't trade during this period. In this case you have two choices: find a strategy that suits the time periods when you're free, or adjust your lifestyle to trade during the suitable periods.

Some people choose swing trading, which doesn't require staring at the screen all the time, so they don't have to worry about time periods. Some adjust their work hours or wake up earlier to catch the best time windows. There's no single correct answer, but what's important is to be honest with yourself and choose a sustainable approach.

Monitor and Improve Continuously

Time-period analysis is not something you do once and finish. Markets change, your strategy evolves, and you yourself change. So you should review your time-based trading statistics regularly—for example, every three months, or after completing 100 orders.

If you use Thaifxbook, the system will track these statistics for you automatically. You can view trade distribution by day and time at any time, and compare how results change over time.

Remember that adjusting your strategy based on data is not guessing or random experimentation, but using real data from your own trading history as a guide. This method allows you to make decisions more rationally and confidently.

Summary

Knowing which time of day you trade best is a significant advantage, yet most traders never pay attention to it. They trade whenever they have free time, without considering whether that period is suitable. The result is wasted time and money trading in unsuitable conditions.

Analysing trading statistics by time period is not difficult, but it yields highly valuable results. You'll know where to focus your time and energy, and which periods to avoid. Adjusting your strategy to align with this data will significantly increase efficiency and reduce risk.

Start by extracting your trading history, group by time period, analyse the results, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Remember to review regularly to ensure you continue trading during the time periods that give you the highest edge.