Course 303 – London Session

In an interesting cycle, the European market participants begin their day just when their Asian counterparts are rounding off for the day.

London remains a major focus for market participants even though there are a good number of financial centers all around Europe.

It comes as no surprise that London is seen as the forex capital of the world as thousands of businessmen make transactions by the minutes. Besides, London has always been known as a major trade hub because of its strategic location.

About 30% of all forex transactions occur during the London session.

Below is a table of the London session pip ranges of the major currency pairs.

TABLE

PAIR	LONDON
EUR/USD	83
GBP/USD	82
USD/JPY	36
AUD/USD	60
NZD/USD	64
USD/CAD	66
USD/CHF	58
EUR/JPY	80
GBP/JPY	102
AUD/JPY	86
EUR/GBP	40
EUR/CHF	–

These pip values were derived based on the averages of past data. Take note that these are not constant values, and these values can change, depending on liquidity and other market conditions.

Also, the session range for EUR/CHF has not been included since the Swiss franc has been pegged to the euro at 1.2000 during the period.

Here are some facts you should know about the European session:

• Tons of forex transactions take place during this session because London is a major financial hub and the London session at certain periods overlaps with the two other major trading sessions. This leads to high liquidity and potentially lower transaction costs, i.e. lower pip spreads.
• Naturally, the London trading session is the most volatile session because of the large amount of transactions that take place, the
• Most trends begin during the London session, and they typically will continue until the beginning of the New York session.
• Volatility tends to reduce in the middle of the session, as traders would usually go on breaks before awaiting the commencement of the New York trading period.
• Sometimes, trends switch at the end of the London session, as European traders may decide to lock in profits.

PAIRS YOU SHOULD TRADE IN THE LONDON SESSION?

The large volume of transactions that occur during this session, gives room for so much liquidity so that almost any currency pair can be traded.

However, it is advised that you stick with the majors (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, and USD/CHF), as these normally have the tightest spreads.

Also, it is these pairs are usually the most directly influenced by any news reports that come out during the European session.

You can also try your hands on the yen crosses (more specifically, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY), they tend to be pretty volatile during this session. Note that the spreads might be a little wider because these are cross pairs.

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