Each instrument has its specific times, when it can be traded, and also has its times, when trading does not pay off. The question is. how to determine the optimal trading times?
The main criterion is volatility. If volatility settles down, the trade goes nowhere, and time and money spent is better spent elsewhere.
To analyze this, I have coded a small indicator that calculates the average range per over a sample of all bars that were formed at the same weekday at the same day over a period of n weeks. So for example, if n=50, the indicator will calculate the average range of all Tuesday morning 10:00 AM bars over a period of 50 weeks.
EURUSD - When to Trade
So here comes the first result for EURUSD:
The chart below shows when you would expect high volatility (blue), acceptable volatility (dark orange) and low volatility (gray). From this you can identify the optimum trading times for EURUSD.
Best: US Session after the NewYork Open 8.00 AM EST until 12:00 AM EST (Tuesday - Friday).
Good: European Session after London Open 8:00 AM GMT until 12.00 AM GMT (Tuesday-Friday), US Session after 9:00 AM EST until 11:00 AM EST.
Not trade: Asian Box, London Lunch Break, US afternoon.
Adapt Trading Style to Volatility
When volatility picks up, trade breakouts, when volatility settles down, favour countertrades! If you pick the right time, the expected hourly range is 50 pips. There is opportunity, you just need to grasp it.