Sessions, news and the calendar
What you learn in 3 minutesThis lesson shows which hours of the day an Australian reader is most likely to see AUD/USD move, and which scheduled releases can widen the spread enough to matter to a stop. The word 'session' is how a platform labels the blocks of the trading day, and the label tells you when the market is busy rather than when it is quiet. By the end you can put a rough money figure on one hour of movement, in A$, before you place an order.
One hour of AUD/USD movement in A$
| Step | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | AUD/USD | the pair quoted as US dollars per one Australian dollar |
| Price used | 0.6640 | an example level, not a live quote |
| Position size | one standard lot | 100,000 units of AUD |
| Value of one pip | A$10.00 | 100,000 x 0.0001 = 10 US dollars, converted at 0.6640 |
| Quiet hour movement | 10 pips | a typical slow block, such as the Sydney afternoon |
| Quiet hour in A$ | A$100.00 | 10 pips x A$10.00 |
| London and New York overlap | 40 pips | a busier block, used here only as an illustration |
| Busy hour in A$ | A$400.00 | 40 pips x A$10.00 |
Your broker may quote a slightly different AUD/USD price, round the pip value, or add a commission and a wider spread around news. The pip value also changes as the AUD/USD rate changes.
The mistake people make here
The common mistake is to treat every hour as equally tradable and to leave a tight stop sitting through a scheduled release. Spreads can widen sharply in the minutes around a release, so the price your stop is filled at can be further away than the level you set. Check the economic calendar before you enter, and if a release is due, either wait until the spread settles or size the position so a wider fill is still within your plan. The calendar does not tell you which way price will go, only that the market may become less orderly.Check yourself
AUD/USD is at 0.6640 and you hold one standard lot. One pip is worth how much in A$?
One pip is 10 US dollars, because 100,000 x 0.0001 = 10. Converted at 0.6640, that is 10 / 0.6640 = A$15.06, rounded to A$15.06.
If a quiet hour moves 10 pips and a busy hour moves 40 pips on one standard lot, what is the difference in A$ at 0.6640?
The difference is 30 pips. 30 x A$15.06 = A$451.80.
The London and New York sessions overlap for four hours. If each of those hours moves about 40 pips, what is the total movement in A$ on one standard lot?
4 hours x 40 pips = 160 pips. 160 x A$15.06 = A$2,409.60.
In Australia
- Regulator
- ASIC regulates retail forex and CFD providers that offer services to Australian clients.
- Local session
- The Sydney session runs through the Australian morning and overlaps with Tokyo before London opens.
- London in local time
- London opens in the late afternoon or early evening in Australia, depending on daylight saving.
- New York in local time
- New York opens late at night in Australia, so the busiest overlap falls outside normal local working hours.
- Funding
- Deposits and withdrawals with Australian brokers are commonly made by PayID, BPAY or card, and each method has its own timing.