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.
| 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 | Toronto working day about 13:00 to 22:00 | 08:00 to 17:00 | Toronto is on the same clock as New York, five hours behind the UK for most of the year. |
| Busiest hours | 13:00 to 17:00 | 08:00 to 12:00 | Canadian and US data both come out at 08:30 New York time, and Toronto, New York and London overlap. |
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. Canada changes its clocks on the same dates as the US, so Canadian data at 8:30am Toronto time is 13:30 UK for most of the year and 12:30 UK in the gap weeks.
What is USD/CAD?
USD/CAD is the price of one US dollar in Canadian dollars. A price of 1.3800 means one US dollar buys 1.38 Canadian dollars. If the price rises, the US dollar is strengthening; if it falls, the Canadian dollar (nicknamed the loonie after the bird on its one dollar coin) is strengthening.
Canada is a large oil exporter and the US is its biggest trading partner. That ties the loonie to crude oil prices and to North American news, and it means most of the action happens in North American hours.
The trading sessions
Usually the quietest time for USD/CAD, with small ranges.
Some movement with the dollar and oil, but most traders wait for North America.
The main session. Canadian and US data at 13:30 UK and the Bank of Canada at 14:45 UK land here.
Slower, but US oil inventory figures on Wednesdays at 15:30 UK can still move it.
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 US 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 Canadian dollars (100,000 x 0.0001). On a mini lot it is 1 Canadian dollars. Your broker converts that into your account currency at the current rate.
CME Canadian dollar futures (symbol 6C): 100,000 Canadian dollars per contract, quoted in US dollars per Canadian dollar (so the future moves the opposite way to USD/CAD), 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 USD/CAD
Bank of Canada rate decisions at 9:45am Toronto time and the gap between Canadian and US rates.
Oil is a major Canadian export, so higher oil prices tend to strengthen the loonie and push USD/CAD down.
The monthly Labour Force Survey, often released on the same Friday as the US jobs report.
Monthly consumer prices guide the Bank of Canada's next move.
US jobs, inflation and Federal Reserve decisions move the dollar side.
Tariff and trade news between Canada and the US, its biggest customer.
Scheduled events to watch
Eight scheduled announcements a year; the next is on 9 December 2026.
Monthly from Statistics Canada, often on the same morning as US payrolls, which can make the pair jump twice in one candle.
Monthly from Statistics Canada; a surprise shifts Bank of Canada expectations.
Usually Wednesdays; a big surprise moves oil and, through it, the loonie.
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 opposite to oil: oil up, USD/CAD down.
Tends to rise when the dollar strengthens broadly.
Tends to rise in sharp sell offs in US30 and NAS100, as money moves into the US dollar.
These are tendencies, not rules. The oil link in particular can weaken for long stretches.
Tips for trading USD/CAD
Watch the 13:30 double
When Canadian and US jobs come out together, wait for the first 5 minute candle to close and trade a break of its high or low. A close back through the other side proves it wrong.
Check oil
A short USD/CAD idea is stronger when oil is rising. It is wrong if USD/CAD closes back above the level it broke, whatever oil is doing.
Mind the quiet hours
Before 13:00 UK the pair is often slow. A breakout in the UK morning that reverses back inside yesterday's range by the US open has failed.
Respect round numbers
Levels such as 1.3500 and 1.4000 attract orders. A bounce idea from a round number is wrong if price closes 10 to 15 pips through it on your trading timeframe.
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 USD/CAD 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: bankofcanada.ca, cmegroup.com, www150.statcan.gc.ca, eia.gov, 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 USD/CAD?
For most traders it is 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, when Toronto, New York and London overlap. Canadian and US data both come out at 13:30 UK and the Bank of Canada announces at 14:45 UK. The Asian session is usually quiet.
Why does USD/CAD move with oil?
Oil is one of Canada's biggest exports, so higher oil prices tend to bring more money into Canada and support the Canadian dollar. That usually pushes USD/CAD down. The link is a tendency and can weaken for weeks at a time.
How much is one pip on USD/CAD?
One pip is 0.0001. On 1 standard lot of 100,000 US dollars it is worth 10 Canadian dollars, which your broker converts to your account currency. On a mini lot it is 1 Canadian dollar.
What time does the Bank of Canada announce rates in UK time?
At 9:45am Toronto time, which is 14:45 UK for most of the year and 13:45 UK in the gap weeks. There are eight scheduled announcements a year and the next is on 9 December 2026.
Does USD/CAD trade at weekends?
No. USD/CAD 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.