Trading hours
Typically open from Sunday 22:00 to Friday 22:00 UK time (5pm to 5pm New York time), with a short pause around the 22:00 rollover each weekday at some brokers. Times on your chart follow your broker's server clock. Wellington is the first major centre to start each week, so Monday morning there is the weekly open.
| When | UK time | New York time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open | Sunday 22:00 | Sunday 17:00 | Typically, at most CFD brokers. The first minutes after the open can have wide spreads. |
| Daily rollover | 22:00 each weekday | 17:00 | The trading day ends and overnight financing (swap) is charged. Spreads widen for a few minutes either side, and some brokers pause quotes for one to five minutes. |
| Friday close | Friday 22:00 | Friday 17:00 | Typically. Many brokers stop about 5 minutes early on Fridays. Closed all of Saturday. |
| Underlying market | Wellington working day about 20:00 to 05:00 (UK winter) | 15:00 to 00:00 | Wellington is 13 hours ahead of the UK in the UK winter and 11 hours ahead in the UK summer. |
| Busiest hours | 13:00 to 17:00, and 21:00 to 03:00 | 08:00 to 12:00, and 16:00 to 22:00 | New Zealand data and RBNZ decisions come out in the Wellington morning; the overlap brings US data. |
Forex hours are set by New York time: the week opens and closes at 5pm New York time. For most of the year that is 22:00 UK time. The UK and the US change their clocks on different dates, so for a few weeks a year it is 21:00 UK instead. In 2026 the UK went back on 25 October and the US on 1 November, so the week of 26 to 31 October closed at 21:00 UK. In 2027 the US moves forward on 14 March and the UK on 28 March, so those two weeks also close at 21:00 UK. US data at 8:30am New York time lands at 13:30 UK for most of the year and 12:30 in the gap weeks. Your chart times follow your broker's server clock, which many brokers set two hours ahead of UK winter time so each daily candle starts at the 5pm New York rollover. New Zealand changes its clocks in the opposite season (forward on the last Sunday of September, back on the first Sunday of April). A 10:45 Wellington release is 21:45 UK the evening before in the UK winter and 23:45 UK in the UK summer.
What is NZD/USD?
NZD/USD is the price of one New Zealand dollar in US dollars. A price of 0.5800 means one New Zealand dollar buys 0.58 US dollars. If the price rises, the Kiwi is strengthening; if it falls, the US dollar is strengthening.
New Zealand is a small economy that exports a lot of dairy and other farm products, much of it to China and Australia. The Kiwi is less traded than the major European currencies, so it can move sharply on local news and often follows the Australian dollar.
The trading sessions
The home session. New Zealand data and RBNZ decisions land here.
Moves with the Australian dollar and Chinese data.
Often trades in step with AUD/USD; thinner than the major European pairs.
The busiest window for the dollar side, with US data at 13:30 UK.
Contract facts
One pip is 0.0001 (the fourth decimal place). Most brokers quote a fifth decimal, a tenth of a pip, often called a pipette or point.
1 standard lot = 100,000 New Zealand dollars. A mini lot (0.1) is 10,000 and a micro lot (0.01) is 1,000.
One pip on 1 standard lot is worth 10 US dollars (100,000 x 0.0001). On a mini lot it is 1 US dollars. Your broker converts that into your account currency at the current rate.
CME New Zealand dollar futures (symbol 6N): 100,000 New Zealand dollars per contract, traded on CME Globex Sunday to Friday 5:00pm to 4:00pm Chicago time, with a 60 minute break each day (Sunday 23:00 to Friday 22:00 UK time for most of the year).
How far it usually moves
Varies; check the Average daily range indicator. It averages the distance from each day's high to its low (by default over the last 14 days) and draws the expected high and low for today. We do not quote a fixed number because the range changes with news and volatility.
What moves NZD/USD
Reserve Bank of New Zealand decisions on the official cash rate (OCR) at 2pm Wellington time.
Quarterly inflation and jobs figures released at 10:45 Wellington time.
Global dairy auction results matter because dairy is a big export.
Demand from its two largest trading partners and moves in the Australian dollar.
Like the Aussie, the Kiwi tends to rise in calm markets and fall in sell offs.
US jobs, inflation and Federal Reserve decisions move the dollar side.
Scheduled events to watch
Announced at 2pm Wellington time; the next is the Monetary Policy Statement on 9 December 2026.
Published at 10:45 Wellington time; New Zealand reports inflation only four times a year, so each release carries weight.
Jobs and wage data at 10:45 Wellington time feed straight into RBNZ thinking.
The US rate sets the price of the dollar side of the pair; next decision 9 December 2026, then 27 January 2027.
Usually the first Friday of the month (next: 6 November and 4 December 2026) and often the biggest dollar mover of the month.
What it tends to move with
Tends to move in the same direction as AUD/USD, often closely.
Tends to rise with NAS100 and US30 in calm markets and fall in sharp sell offs.
Tends to fall when the dollar strengthens broadly.
These are tendencies, not rules. They can break around local news.
Tips for trading NZD/USD
Confirm with AUD/USD
A Kiwi breakout that AUD/USD is not joining is weaker. The idea is wrong if NZD/USD closes back inside the range it broke.
Expect thin hours
Between about 17:00 and 21:00 UK liquidity is thin and spreads can widen. A move in that window that reverses fully by the Wellington open has failed.
Plan around RBNZ nights
On RBNZ days, wait for the first 15 minute candle after the announcement to close. A break of its high or low is the idea; a close back through the other side proves it wrong.
Use yesterday's levels
A long above yesterday's high is wrong if price closes back below that high.
Size from the level
Put the stop in pips beyond a real level and cut the lot size if the stop is wide, rather than moving the stop closer.
Connect your cTrader account once and NZD/USD appears on WickSpeak at your own broker's prices, with key levels (pivots, previous day high and low, average daily range levels, round numbers) each showing how many pips away it is, and a plain-English reading on the live candle from every indicator. A Playbook play on this pair can send an alert, draw a trade plan, paper trade, or place a live trade inside guardrails you set, but only if you switched live trading on for that play.
Related markets
Sources: rbnz.govt.nz, stats.govt.nz, cmegroup.com, bis.org, federalreserve.gov, bls.gov, pepperstone.com. Checked 2026-11-05. Broker hours follow your broker's server clock and can differ.
Questions traders ask
What is the best time to trade NZD/USD from the UK?
The London and New York overlap, 13:00 to 17:00 UK, has the most volume for the dollar side. The Wellington and Sydney morning, about 21:00 to 03:00 UK, is when New Zealand news lands. Between about 17:00 and 21:00 UK the pair is often thin.
What time does the RBNZ announce rates in UK time?
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announces at 2pm Wellington time. That is 01:00 UK in the UK winter and 03:00 UK in the UK summer. The next decision is on 9 December 2026.
How much is one pip on NZD/USD?
One pip is 0.0001. On 1 standard lot of 100,000 New Zealand dollars it is worth 10 US dollars, on a mini lot 1 dollar and on a micro lot 10 cents.
Why do NZD/USD and AUD/USD move together?
New Zealand and Australia trade heavily with each other and with China, export commodities, and both currencies react to global risk mood in a similar way. So they often move in the same direction. The size of the moves can still differ on local news.
Does NZD/USD trade at weekends?
No. NZD/USD typically closes on Friday at 22:00 UK time and reopens on Sunday at 22:00 UK time. News over the weekend can make Sunday's first price differ from Friday's close, which is called a gap.