Trading hours
NZD/CAD 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 | 21:45 to 02:00 and 13:00 to 16:00 | 16:45 to 21:00 and 08:00 to 11:00 | Typically. New Zealand news in the UK evening and night, then Canadian data and oil in the UK afternoon. |
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. New Zealand changes its clocks the opposite way to the UK (forward on the last Sunday of September, back on the first Sunday of April), so New Zealand releases move by two hours on a UK clock across the year. Canadian releases follow the New York clock, so in the gap weeks they land one hour earlier on a UK clock. 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 NZD/CAD?
NZD/CAD shows how many Canadian dollars one New Zealand dollar buys. If it reads 0.8000, one New Zealand dollar costs 0.80 Canadian dollars. It joins two smaller commodity currencies: dairy and food for New Zealand, oil for Canada.
It is one of the less traded crosses, so spreads are usually wider. It moves mainly when New Zealand's news lands in the UK evening and night, and when Canadian data and oil trade in the UK afternoon.
The trading sessions
New Zealand data at 21:45 UK (winter) and RBNZ decisions move the kiwi side here.
Usually quiet; neither home market is open.
Canadian data at 13:30 UK, the Bank of Canada at 14:45 UK and oil move the Canadian side.
Typically the busier window, with Canadian data and oil.
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 New Zealand dollars (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 Canadian dollars (100,000 x 0.0001). On a mini lot (0.1) it is 1 Canadian dollar and on a micro lot (0.01) it is 0.10 Canadian dollars. Your platform converts it to your account currency at the current rate.
Most NZD/CAD 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 NZD/CAD because we could not verify one from an official source.
What moves NZD/CAD
Expectations for New Zealand interest rates drive the kiwi (the market's nickname for the New Zealand dollar).
Dairy is New Zealand's largest export, so Global Dairy Trade auction results can nudge the kiwi.
Like the Australian dollar, the kiwi tends to rise when markets are calm and fall when fear rises.
Expectations for Canadian interest rates drive the loonie (the market's nickname for the Canadian dollar).
Canada is a large oil exporter, so a rising oil price tends to support the Canadian dollar and a falling one to weigh on it.
Most Canadian exports go to the US, so US growth, trade policy and tariffs feed straight into the loonie.
Firm dairy prices with weak oil tend to lift NZD/CAD, and the reverse tends to weigh on it.
Scheduled events to watch
Announced at 14:00 New Zealand time; the next is 9 December 2026, then 10 February 2027, and the RBNZ moves to eight decisions a year from 2027.
Eight a year at 09:45 Ottawa time; the next is 9 December 2026.
Stats NZ publishes at 10:45 New Zealand time; quarterly, so each release carries more weight than a monthly one.
Monthly from Statistics Canada, often on the same Friday as the US jobs report, which can make the Canadian dollar very jumpy.
Quarterly unemployment and wages from Stats NZ at 10:45 New Zealand time.
Monthly from Statistics Canada; it shapes what traders expect from the Bank of Canada.
What it tends to move with
NZD/CAD is effectively NZD/USD multiplied by USD/CAD.
NZD/CAD and AUD/CAD usually move in the same direction.
A rising oil price tends to push NZD/CAD lower.
Tips for trading NZD/CAD
Check the spread
NZD/CAD spreads are often wide. If the spread is a large share of your stop, the trade is not worth it.
Oil days
A long NZD/CAD idea fights an oil rally. A break of the day's low while oil climbs proves the long wrong.
Two windows
Trade around New Zealand or Canadian news, not the quiet hours between. A breakout in the quiet hours that closes back inside the range proves it wrong.
Weekly levels
A rejection at the previous week's low is a long idea; a daily close below it proves it wrong.
Connect a cTrader account once and, if your broker offers NZD/CAD, 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 NZD/CAD 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, rbnz.govt.nz, stats.govt.nz, bankofcanada.ca, www150.statcan.gc.ca, eia.gov. Checked 2026-11-05. Broker hours follow your broker's server clock and can differ.
Questions traders ask
What are NZD/CAD trading hours in the UK?
NZD/CAD 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 NZD/CAD?
Typically around New Zealand news in the UK evening and night, and from 13:00 to 16:00 UK when Canadian data and oil trading arrive. The European morning is usually quiet for it.
Why are NZD/CAD spreads wide?
Both are smaller currencies and the pair is not heavily traded, so brokers usually quote wider spreads than on majors, especially around the 22:00 UK rollover.
What moves NZD/CAD?
Interest rate expectations at the RBNZ and the Bank of Canada, dairy prices for New Zealand and oil prices for Canada, plus the general mood in world markets.
How much is 1 pip on NZD/CAD worth?
On 1 standard lot of 100,000 New Zealand dollars, one pip (0.0001) is worth 10 Canadian dollars. On 0.1 lots it is 1 Canadian dollar and on 0.01 lots it is 0.10 Canadian dollars. Your platform shows it in your account currency at the current rate.