Trading hours
Typically open from Sunday 22:00 to Friday 22:00 UK time, with a short pause around the 22:00 rollover at some brokers. It has three active windows: Tokyo, London and New York. 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. Sydney and Wellington are already in their Monday morning. Some brokers open a few minutes later and the first minutes can have wide spreads. |
| Daily rollover | 22:00 each weekday | 17:00 | The trading day ends and overnight financing (swap) is charged. Typically there is no long break, but spreads widen for a few minutes either side. Some brokers pause quotes for one to five minutes. |
| Friday close | Friday 22:00 | Friday 17:00 | Typically. Many brokers stop a few minutes early, for example 5 minutes before the hour. Closed all of Saturday. |
| Tokyo morning | 00:00 to 03:00 | 19:00 to 22:00 | Japanese banks and exporters are active. The Tokyo fix at 9:55am Tokyo time (00:55 UK in winter, 01:55 UK in summer) can bring a burst of orders. |
| Busiest hours | 13:00 to 17:00 | 08:00 to 12:00 | London and New York overlap, and US data at 13:30 UK lands in this window. |
Forex hours are set by New York time: the week opens and closes at 5pm New York time. The UK and the US change their clocks on different dates, so the UK time moves for a few weeks a year. For most of the year the open and close are at 22:00 UK time. In the gap weeks, when the US has changed and the UK has not, they fall at 21:00 UK time. In spring the US moves its clocks forward on the second Sunday of March and the UK on the last Sunday of March (14 March and 28 March in 2027), so for those two weeks the close is 21:00 UK. In autumn the UK moves back on the last Sunday of October and the US on the first Sunday of November (in 2026 that was 25 October and 1 November), so for that week the close is again 21:00 UK. US data at 8:30am New York time lands at 13:30 UK time for most of the year and 12:30 in the gap weeks. Your broker's chart times follow its server clock, which many brokers set to two hours ahead of UK winter time so that each daily candle starts at the 5pm New York rollover. Japan does not use daylight saving, so Tokyo times shift by one hour in UK time when the UK changes its clocks: Tokyo 9:00am is 00:00 UK in winter and 01:00 UK in summer.
What is USD/JPY?
USD/JPY is the price of one US dollar in Japanese yen. A price of 150.00 means one dollar buys 150 yen. If the price rises the dollar is stronger; if it falls the yen is stronger. Note that the dollar is first here, the opposite of EUR/USD and GBP/USD.
The yen was on one side of 16.8% of all currency trades in April 2025, according to the Bank for International Settlements, making it the third most traded currency. USD/JPY is closely tied to the gap between US and Japanese interest rates, and Japan's Ministry of Finance has stepped into the market in the past to support the yen when it fell quickly.
The trading sessions
This is USD/JPY's home session, unlike most pairs. Japanese data comes out at 23:30 or 23:50 UK time, and the Tokyo fix is at 9:55am Tokyo time. Moves here are often bigger than on EUR/USD at the same hour.
European traders take over. The pair often reacts to moves in bond yields and global risk mood.
US data and US bond yields drive the pair. This is usually where the biggest moves of the day happen.
The busiest stretch of the forex day. US data at 13:30 UK time often sets the direction for the afternoon, and the London 4pm fix (16:00 UK) can bring a burst of orders.
Contract facts
One pip is 0.01 (the second decimal place). Most brokers quote a third decimal, a tenth of a pip.
1 standard lot = 100,000 US dollars. A mini lot (0.1) is 10,000 dollars and a micro lot (0.01) is 1,000 dollars.
One pip on 1 standard lot is worth 1,000 yen (100,000 x 0.01). In dollars that is 1,000 divided by the price, so about 6.67 US dollars when USD/JPY is at 150.
CME Japanese yen futures (symbol 6J): 12,500,000 yen per contract, quoted as dollars per yen (the upside down of USD/JPY), minimum move 0.0000005, traded on CME Globex Sunday to Friday 5:00pm to 4:00pm Chicago time with a 60 minute daily break.
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/JPY
The gap between US and Japanese interest rates, and moves in US Treasury yields.
Bank of Japan policy decisions and comments from its governor.
US Federal Reserve decisions and US data such as jobs and inflation.
Warnings or action from Japan's Ministry of Finance to support the yen.
Risk mood. The yen has often strengthened when markets sell off sharply.
Japanese inflation and wage data, including Tokyo CPI.
Scheduled events to watch
No fixed release time; the statement comes when the meeting ends on the second day. Eight meetings a year. The December 2026 meeting is listed as 17 to 18 December. Check the Bank of Japan's own schedule.
Eight meetings a year. Press conference 30 minutes later. Remaining dates: 8 to 9 December 2026 (decision on the 9th). 2027: 26 to 27 January, 16 to 17 March, 27 to 28 April, 8 to 9 June, 27 to 28 July, 14 to 15 September, 26 to 27 October, 7 to 8 December (2027 dates are tentative until confirmed).
Usually the first Friday of the month. Next: 6 November and 4 December 2026.
Monthly, usually in the middle of the month.
Monthly, released 8:30am Tokyo time, an early read on Japanese inflation.
What it tends to move with
Tends to move with US 10 year Treasury yields: higher yields, higher USD/JPY.
Tends to fall when stock markets sell off sharply, as money moves into the yen.
Often moves opposite to EUR/USD and GBP/USD on US dollar news, because the dollar is the first currency here.
These are tendencies, not rules.
Tips for trading USD/JPY
Check the US 10 year yield before trading. A long USD/JPY idea that relies on rising yields is wrong if yields reverse lower and price closes back below the level you bought from.
Respect the Tokyo session. A move that starts at 00:00 to 01:00 UK can set the range for the day; a close back inside the Asian opening range proves a breakout wrong.
Round numbers such as 150.00 and 155.00 attract orders and attention from Japanese officials. A breakout above one is wrong if price closes back below it on the hourly chart.
Be careful near levels where Japan has stepped in before. Intervention can move the pair several hundred pips in minutes, so use smaller lots and never move a stop further away.
On Bank of Japan nights, the release time is not fixed. Avoid holding a tight stop through it; if you do hold, set the stop beyond the previous day high or low, not inside it.
Connect your cTrader account once and USD/JPY appears on WickSpeak at your own broker's prices. Trades are placed only from a Playbook play where you switch live trading on; otherwise WickSpeak just reads the chart. Key levels (pivots, previous day high and low, average daily range levels, round numbers) are drawn with how many pips away each one is, and every indicator writes a plain-English reading on the live candle.
Related markets
Sources: bis.org, ninjatrader.com, cmegroup.com, federalreserve.gov, bls.gov, mnimarkets.com, pepperstone.com. Checked 2026-11-05. Broker hours follow your broker's server clock and can differ.
Questions traders ask
What time is the Tokyo session in UK time?
Roughly 00:00 to 09:00 UK time in winter and 01:00 to 10:00 in summer, because Japan does not change its clocks. Sydney opens earlier, so Asian trading starts around 22:00 UK on Sunday.
How much is one pip on USD/JPY?
One pip is 0.01. On 1 standard lot of 100,000 dollars it is worth 1,000 yen, which is about 6.67 US dollars when the price is 150. The dollar value changes as the price changes.
What is the best time to trade USD/JPY?
The London and New York overlap, 13:00 to 17:00 UK time, is usually the busiest. USD/JPY is also one of the few pairs that moves well in the Tokyo morning, about 00:00 to 03:00 UK time.
What is yen intervention?
It is when Japan's Ministry of Finance buys or sells yen to change its value, usually to stop a fast fall. It can move USD/JPY hundreds of pips in minutes, which is why traders watch official warnings closely.
Why does USD/JPY follow US bond yields?
Higher US yields make holding dollars pay more compared with yen, so money tends to flow into the dollar. When US yields drop, that pull weakens and USD/JPY often falls.