Trading hours
GBP/AUD typically trades from Sunday 22:00 to Friday 22:00 UK time (5pm to 5pm New York time), with no daily break beyond a brief pause at some brokers around the 22:00 UK rollover. Times on your chart follow your broker's server clock.
| When | UK time | New York time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open | Sunday 22:00 (21:00 in the gap weeks) | Sunday 17:00 | Typically, at most CFD brokers. Wellington and Sydney are already in their Monday morning. Spreads are often wide in the first minutes and there can be a gap from Friday's close. |
| Daily rollover | 22:00 each weekday (21:00 in the gap weeks) | 17:00 | The trading day ends and overnight financing (swap) is charged. There is typically no long break, but spreads widen for a few minutes and some brokers pause quotes briefly. |
| Friday close | Friday 22:00 (21:00 in the gap weeks) | Friday 17:00 | Typically. Many brokers stop a few minutes early, for example Pepperstone closes all markets 5 minutes early on Fridays. Closed all of Saturday. |
| Busiest hours | 07:00 to 11:00 | 02:00 to 06:00 | Typically. London's open with UK data. Australian news lands in the UK night. |
Forex hours follow New York time: the week opens on Sunday and closes on Friday at 5pm New York time. For most of the year that is 22:00 UK. The US and UK change clocks on different Sundays, so in the gap weeks it is 21:00 UK. In autumn 2026 the UK moved back on 25 October and the US on 1 November; in spring 2027 the US moves forward on 14 March and the UK on 28 March, so from 14 to 28 March the open, close and rollover are at 21:00 UK and US data at 8:30am New York time lands at 12:30 UK instead of 13:30. European releases (UK, eurozone and Swiss) stay at the same UK time all year, because those countries change clocks on the same dates as the UK. Australia changes its clocks the opposite way to the UK (Sydney moves forward on the first Sunday of October and back on the first Sunday of April), so Australian release times move by two hours on a UK clock across the year: 14:30 Sydney is 03:30 UK in UK winter and 05:30 UK in UK summer. Times on your broker's chart follow its server clock, which many brokers set to GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer so the daily candle starts at the 5pm New York rollover. Check your broker's own contract page.
What is GBP/AUD?
GBP/AUD shows how many Australian dollars one British pound buys. If it reads 2.0000, one pound costs 2 Australian dollars. It is popular with UK traders and with people sending money between the UK and Australia.
The pair often has large daily swings in pips. Australian data and RBA decisions arrive in the UK night, and UK data at 07:00 UK, so the pair can move at both ends of the UK day. It tends to rise when markets are fearful, because the Australian dollar usually weakens then.
The trading sessions
Sydney and Tokyo are open. Australian data around 00:30 UK and RBA decisions can move the pair.
UK data at 07:00 and London's open often bring the day's biggest move.
US data at 13:30 UK can shift risk mood. Activity tends to fade after 17:00 UK.
Typically the busiest window for GBP/AUD.
Contract facts
One pip is 0.0001 (the fourth decimal place). Most brokers quote one more decimal, a tenth of a pip, often called a pipette or point.
1 standard lot = 100,000 pounds (the first currency in the pair). A mini lot (0.1) is 10,000 and a micro lot (0.01) is 1,000.
One pip (0.0001) on 1 standard lot is worth 10 Australian dollars (100,000 x 0.0001). On a mini lot (0.1) it is 1 Australian dollar and on a micro lot (0.01) it is 0.10 Australian dollars. Your platform converts it to your account currency at the current rate.
Most GBP/AUD trading happens in the spot market between banks and through CFDs. Cross rate futures volume is small, so CFD and spot prices are what most traders watch.
How far it usually moves
Varies with conditions; check the Average daily range indicator on WickSpeak for the current figure in pips. We do not publish a fixed number for GBP/AUD because we could not verify one from an official source.
What moves GBP/AUD
Expectations for UK interest rates are the biggest single driver of the pound.
UK inflation, wages, jobs and monthly GDP, all released at 07:00 UK, move the pound before London is fully awake.
Expectations for Australian interest rates drive the Australian dollar's side of GBP/AUD.
Australia sells iron ore, coal and gas, much of it to China, so Chinese demand and metal prices tend to lift or weigh on the Australian dollar.
The Australian dollar tends to rise when global stocks are calm and climbing and fall when fear rises.
Scheduled events to watch
Sets UK interest rates for the pound side of GBP/AUD; eight a year, the next after today (5 November) is 17 December 2026, then 4 February and 18 March 2027.
Released at 14:30 Sydney time on the second day of the meeting; eight a year, next on 8 December 2026, then 9 February 2027.
Published monthly by the Office for National Statistics, usually mid month; a surprise moves Bank of England expectations at once.
Published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at 11:30 Canberra time; the next is 26 November 2026.
Monthly from the ONS; wage growth is watched closely by the Bank of England.
Monthly from the ABS at 11:30 Canberra time; the next is 24 November 2026.
What it tends to move with
GBP/AUD tends to move the opposite way to AUD/USD.
When the pound moves on UK news, GBP/AUD often follows GBP/USD.
GBP/AUD has often risen in sell offs and fallen in calm, rising markets.
Tips for trading GBP/AUD
Size for the range
GBP/AUD often moves well over 100 pips in a day. Check the Average daily range indicator and size down; if the stop is more than about half the day's average range, the setup is too loose.
Two news windows
Australian data near 00:30 UK and UK data at 07:00 UK can both move it. A close back through the pre-release range after either proves the first move wrong.
London break
Mark the Asian session range. A London close beyond one side is a direction idea; a close back inside proves it wrong.
Risk off tilt
On days when stocks fall hard, short GBP/AUD ideas are weak; a break of the morning high proves a short wrong.
Connect a cTrader account once and, if your broker offers GBP/AUD, it appears on WickSpeak at your broker's own prices. Key levels show the previous day high and low, pivot points, round numbers and average daily range levels with how many pips away each is, Time of day DNA shows when GBP/AUD has tended to move, and every indicator writes a plain-English reading on the live candle. A Playbook play can alert you, paper trade, or place a trade inside guardrails you set, only on a play where you switched live trading on.
Related markets
Sources: pepperstone.com, pepperstone.com, bankofengland.co.uk, ons.gov.uk, rba.gov.au, abs.gov.au. Checked 2026-11-05. Broker hours follow your broker's server clock and can differ.
Questions traders ask
What are GBP/AUD trading hours in the UK?
GBP/AUD typically trades from Sunday 22:00 to Friday 22:00 UK time, which is 5pm Sunday to 5pm Friday in New York. In the few weeks when the US and UK clocks change on different dates, the open and close are at 21:00 UK. It does not trade on Saturdays.
What is the best time to trade GBP/AUD?
Typically 07:00 to 11:00 UK, when London opens and UK data is out. Australian data and RBA decisions come in the UK night, so it can also move then.
Why is GBP/AUD so volatile?
It combines the pound, which reacts strongly to UK data, with the Australian dollar, which reacts to China, commodities and risk mood. Lower trading volume than the majors also means wider swings and spreads.
When is Australian data released in UK time?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes at 11:30 Canberra time, which is 00:30 UK in UK winter and 02:30 UK in UK summer.
How much is 1 pip on GBP/AUD worth?
On 1 standard lot of 100,000 pounds, one pip (0.0001) is worth 10 Australian dollars. On 0.1 lots it is 1 Australian dollar and on 0.01 lots it is 0.10 Australian dollars. Your platform shows it in your account currency at the current rate.