New York Forex Trading Session

The last of the markets to open each day, the New York trading session definitely carries a lot of weight in how the markets move.

Much like the London trading session, New York sessions are dominated by large institutional investors who make up much of the session’s trading volume. However, market activity is not entirely confined to speculators and investors.The New York session includes all other North and South American markets.

Here are six things to know about the New York trading session:

1. The dollar is the kingmaker. While the dollar can be found in more than 40% of all currency transactions, it makes up an even greater share during the New York session.
2. Fridays are dead, at least most of the time. In closing up shop for the week, the New York market is the last to close. Asian and European traders are enjoying their weekends, and are away from the markets. In the Americas, traders may close up their positions early in preparation for a restful weekend.
3. Every first Friday of the month is the very important “Non-Farm Payroll” report, also known as NFP, which is the key statistic for American employment numbers. In the fifteen minutes preceding the release, traders start placing bets on how this data will affect the market. At release, dollar-denominated pairs are known to move wildly!
4. Key economic data is released early in the trading day, and the markets respond quickly to each release. The timing of key releases means that Europeans can also get in on the action during the market overlaps from 8am to noon (12pm) New York time.
5. Traders are less active in the afternoon, since this half of the trading session does not include European participants. Also, late lunches and trading breaks mean there are less traders moving money around.
6. Commodity prices, especially oil, are important to traders active in the New York session. The price of oil greatly affects the US economy, as well as the Mexican and Canadian economies, which are both heavily tied to oil exports.