Forex Market Hours in South Africa (SAST)
See global Forex sessions in South African time (UTC+02:00), including London–New York overlap and overnight closes.
Session hours in SAST
Africa/Johannesburg · 24-hour clock
| Session | Opens → closes · SAST |
|---|---|
| London | Wed 21 Oct 2026 · UTC+02:00 |
| New York | Wed 21 Oct 2026 · UTC+02:00 |
| Sydney | Previous day’s session UTC+02:00UTC+02:00+1 day |
| Tokyo | Wed 21 Oct 2026 · UTC+02:00 |
London–New York overlap in SAST
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Overlaps touching this local date are shown with their full opening and closing dates, including any continuation from the previous day. Both sessions are open by schedule during these intervals.
Reading dates and session limits
Times use the 24-hour clock in Africa/Johannesburg. Opening times refer to the selected local date. +1 day means the session closes on the next calendar day. Early hours from a previous session appear separately, with both actual dates. “Open now” appears only after synchronisation, for today in the selected zone. Time-zone rules for each date are applied, including daylight saving where used. This weekly session model excludes public holidays and broker maintenance; it is not a live broker-status feed.
Convert London or New York time to SAST
Calculated for 21:48 · 21 Oct 2026 · London
From
Changing the source zone keeps the entered date and time.
Europe/London · BST · UTC+01:00
To
Africa/Johannesburg · SAST · UTC+02:00
Session details for this conversion
Next overlap
Starts in 15h 12m from the selected moment
Forex market hours on the selected date
21 Oct 2026 · Africa/Johannesburg. Full session intervals are shown in both zones, including dates across midnight.
| Session | From · Europe/London | To · Africa/Johannesburg |
|---|---|---|
| SydneyClosed at selected time | From · Europe/London 22:00 · 20 Oct 2026 → 07:00 · 21 Oct 2026 22:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 07:00 · 22 Oct 2026 | To · Africa/Johannesburg 23:00 · 20 Oct 2026 → 08:00 · 21 Oct 2026 23:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 08:00 · 22 Oct 2026 |
| TokyoClosed at selected time | From · Europe/London 01:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 10:00 · 21 Oct 2026 | To · Africa/Johannesburg 02:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 11:00 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| LondonClosed at selected time | From · Europe/London 08:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 17:00 · 21 Oct 2026 | To · Africa/Johannesburg 09:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 18:00 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| New YorkOpen by schedule | From · Europe/London 13:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 22:00 · 21 Oct 2026 | To · Africa/Johannesburg 14:00 · 21 Oct 2026 → 23:00 · 21 Oct 2026 |
EST, EDT, CST and schedule limits
New York follows Eastern Time: EST in winter and EDT in summer. Select New York for date-aware conversions. Search “EST” or “EDT” to choose an explicitly fixed offset instead. “CST” is ambiguous: choose Chicago for US Central Time or Shanghai for China Standard Time.
The table uses regional Forex hours, not a stock-exchange calendar or a live trading-status feed. London–New York overlap is the intersection of these session windows; it does not measure liquidity or predict returns. Broker holidays, maintenance and exact trading minutes can differ.
Time-zone calculations use IANA release 2026e, shared by the page and the converter. Dates from 2020 to 2035 are supported; future rules may change.
IANA time-zone data · US daylight-saving rules · Example broker trading hours
London and New York session times in South Africa
London session in SAST
London’s modelled 08:00–17:00 local session is 09:00–18:00 SAST during British Summer Time (BST), or 10:00–19:00 SAST during Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). South African time stays at UTC+02:00 in the supported date range; the change comes from London’s clock.
New York session in SAST
New York’s 08:00–17:00 session becomes 14:00–23:00 SAST during Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), or 15:00–00:00 the next day during Eastern Standard Time (EST). A close at 00:00 belongs to the beginning of the next calendar day. The schedule includes both dates so that midnight is unambiguous.
London–New York overlap in SAST
On 21 October 2026, with both cities on summer time, the overlap is 14:00–18:00 SAST. On 28 October, London has returned to GMT while New York still uses EDT, so it is 14:00–19:00 SAST. On 4 November, after New York returns to EST, it is 15:00–19:00 SAST.
These are dated intersections of the two modelled sessions. Use the opening-date selector for another day; an overlap does not measure liquidity, spreads or expected returns.
Sunday opening and Friday closing in South Africa
The weekly reference is Sunday 17:00 to Friday 17:00 in New York. During EDT, that is Sunday 23:00 to Friday 23:00 SAST. During EST, it is Monday 00:00 to Saturday 00:00 SAST.
For example, the week opens on Monday, 2 November 2026 at 00:00 SAST and closes on Saturday, 7 November at 00:00 SAST. That Saturday midnight is the closing boundary, not a new Saturday session. The status above gives the next dated boundary; individual brokers can have different trading or maintenance hours.
Tokyo and Sydney sessions in South African time
Tokyo’s 09:00–18:00 local session is 02:00–11:00 SAST. Sydney’s 08:00–17:00 local session is 23:00–08:00 the next day during Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT), or 00:00–09:00 SAST during Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST), before any clipping at the weekly boundary.
A Sydney session opening at 23:00 SAST on 21 October 2026 closes at 08:00 on 22 October. Select 21 October to see that opening, or 22 October to see it marked as the previous day’s session. The selected date always means the opening date in South Africa.
At the winter weekly opening, two Sydney windows can begin on one SAST date. On 2 November 2026, they are 00:00–08:00 and 23:00–08:00 the next day. The first is shortened by the weekly boundary; these are consecutive Sydney sessions, not duplicate entries.
Using the SAST timetable and converter
The timetable uses Africa/Johannesburg and a 24-hour clock. Its local date controls the session table, while the live weekly status continues to describe now. The independent converter starts with London as From and South Africa as To; choose New York when your source time is Eastern Time. City zones apply the selected date’s daylight-saving rule. Swap and Copy link preserve the same moment.
Session conventions are Sydney 08:00–17:00, Tokyo 09:00–18:00, London 08:00–17:00 and New York 08:00–17:00 on business days in each centre, limited to the New York Forex week above. The model uses dated time-zone rules for 2020–2035; future rules may change. It does not include public holidays, broker maintenance or instrument-specific minutes, and it is not a JSE trading calendar or a legal eligibility check.
South Africa Forex hours: frequently asked questions
Is the Forex market open now in South Africa?
The weekly status at the top shows whether the global Forex week is open at the displayed moment. After the clock synchronises, Open now marks only a session window that is active today in SAST. A historical or future table does not acquire today’s Open now badges. Without JavaScript, read the Calculated for timestamp as a snapshot.
Does South Africa change clocks for daylight saving?
Africa/Johannesburg stays at UTC+02:00 throughout this tool’s supported 2020–2035 range. London, New York and Sydney change their own clocks, so their session hours in SAST can still shift by an hour.
What time does Forex close on Friday in South Africa?
The modelled weekly close is Friday 23:00 SAST while New York uses EDT, or Saturday 00:00 SAST while New York uses EST. At the closing instant the week is closed. Check the dated boundary above rather than assuming the same Friday evening time all year.
Why does Sydney appear on two South African dates?
During Sydney daylight time, its session crosses midnight in SAST. The opening date owns the full interval; the next date repeats that interval separately as Previous day’s session. It is one session, not two separate openings.
Are these JSE hours or my broker’s trading hours?
No. These are global Forex session conventions expressed in SAST. They do not provide a local stock-exchange calendar, instrument availability, broker server time or a broker’s live trading status.