#1 Guide to Choosing the Best Time to Trade Binary Options on IQ option

Many traders wonder what is the best time to trade binary options because they are one of the most traded instruments on IQ Option. If you're trading currency pairs on IQ Option (forex, option or digital option), the time which you choose to trade coupled with the currency pair will play a huge role in your success. So it is important to know the best time to trade IQ Option.  There are four major financial markets; Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. Depending on your timezone, each market is either open during the morning, afternoon or evening.

So if you want to benefit from the right market conditions, timing when a particular market is open will be necessary. For example, if you prefer trading when markets are highly volatile, there are specific trading windows in all currency markets that allow you to trade. If on the other hand you prefer ranging markets where entering short positions is possible, you can easily predict the time windows when this happens.

This guide will show you the best time to trade binary options. No matter if you are in India, Kenya or South Africa.

Note that I'm using the GMT time zone (London time) in this article.

Find the best time to trade options

How do binary options work?

First, let's briefly recall how binary options work. When opening a position, you indicate the expected direction, specify the trade amount and the expiry date. It is immediately visible how much % you can earn if your prediction comes true. We recommend entering only trades where the payout is at least 80%. If the option expires and the market goes in the direction you predicted you will get a premium and of course the amount you paid when opening the position will come back to you. If your forecast does not come true, the amount you paid at the beginning is lost.

Hours of operation for global financial centres

All major markets are open for 9 hours. The great thing about this is that the London market overlaps with both the Asian (Tokyo) and American (New York) markets. The Sydney markets also open when the New York markets close. This makes the currency markets run 24 hours 5 days a week. As an option or forex trader, this provides numerous opportunities to profit.

Asian session: From 9 pm to 8 am GMT. This includes the 2 hours where the Tokyo markets remain open after the Sydney markets close.

London session: From 7 am to 4 pm GMT.

New York session: From 12 pm to 9 pm GMT.

Tip!:  we've created a nifty tool called the Forex Market Hours overlaps. 

What it does is allow you to find the best time to trade the top currency pairs based on your time zone.  →

Can you trade binary options 24 7?

The best for trading binary options on IQ Option are options on currency pairs. In theory, you can trade them 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Yes, you read that right, weekends too. Except that, on weekends the quotes will come from the so-called OTC. In binary options, the idea is to predict the rise or fall of the price at a time specified as expiry. Therefore, it seems that trading around the clock is not quite the right solution. Different currency pairs have different volatility throughout the 24-hour period. We need this volatility, and the higher the better.

What is the best time frame to trade binary options?

Choosing a time frame is different from choosing the best time to trade binary options. I personally like to trade using the 5-minute chart. It is not the only possible way. When choosing a chart to analyze, you must also consider how long option expiration times you are interested in. IQ Option gives you the flexibility to choose options expiry starting from 1 minute and ending with options that expire at the end of the month.

For day trading, the best way is to work on charts from 1 minute to 15 minutes. Then the best expiration times are from 5 minutes to say 2-3 hours. But if you set the option expiry time at the end of the week or month, your analysis will be broader if you use daily charts.

What is the best time to trade binary options?

Each trader has their preferred trading time. Some prefer trading in the morning, others in the afternoon, while others prefer late at night. The following examples should give you an idea about the currency pairs to trade. This will help you choose the best time to trade binary options that suits you.

If you prefer trading morning hours to noon (5 am to 12 pm)

Currency pairs with high volatility: NZD/USD, EUR/JPY, GBP/USD

Currency pairs with average volatility: USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD

If you prefer trading afternoon hours to early evening (12 pm to 7 pm)

Currency pairs with high volatility:  EUR/JPY, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, EUR/USD, EUR/GBP

Currency pairs with average volatility: AUD/USD, NZD/USD

If you prefer trading late evening into the early morning (7 pm to 5 am)

Currency pairs with high volatility:AUD/USD

Currency pairs with average volatility: EUR/JPY, NZD/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CHF, USD/CAD, GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, EUR/USD, EUR/GBP

For a better understanding of the volatility of different currency pairs during specific time intervals, take a look at the following 10 charts.

Making money trading currency pairs requires you identify a time interval that best suits your trading strategy. For example, if you prefer trading when markets are highly volatile, the 12.00 GMT to 19.00 GMT time frame offers the best time to trade options.

Now that you've learned how to select the best time to trade on IQ Option, start applying these skills today. As always, start by trading on your practice account to identify when's the best time to trade.

Good luck!