4 ICT Kill Zones Times to trade forex

 The ICT Kill Zones are specific times of the trading day where the institutional or "smart money" players are most involved with the Forex market.

Forex / ICT killzones

These times are higher volatility times when better opportunities are offered for large price movements. The term "Kill Zones" originally comes from trading strategies developed by Michael J. Huddleston, also known as "ICT" or Inner Circle Trader.

there are 4 main Kill Zones that traders often focus on when trading Forex: 

Forex - 4 main ICT killzones

1. London Open (European Session Opening) 

London KillZone

• Time: 3:00 AM to 5:00 AM (GMT)

• Overview: The London session is found to be one of the most active and liquid times to trade Forex since the volume of trades is being executed when most financial markets in Europe start their trading day.

  And many institutional players are going to be positioning for the day, which tends to bring in strong movements in prices.

• Best for: Breakouts

• 

  Forex / ICT Breakout Confirmation

  trend continuation 
  
  

  

  

  Forex / ICT - Trend continuation

  
  and reversals

• 

  Forex / ICT - Valid & inValid Reversal

2. New York Open (US Session Opening)

• Time: 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM (EST)

• Overview: The New York session starts to overlap with the London session during the first few hours. Due to this, there is often a higher liquidity and volatility.  This is a very crucial time for Forex traders because major economic data releases, such as U.S. employment reports, GDP, and Fed announcements, can happen during this time.

• Best for: Having strong moves in USD pairs and possible trend reversals.

3. London Close (End of London Session)

• Time: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM (GMT)

• Overview: The closing of the London session is also quite active since traders at this time start closing their open positions for the day, and many large institutions are rebalancing their portfolios. This period sees some of the best liquidity and volatility as the London session closes and New York takes full control.

• Best for: Reversals in trends and continuation setups when the price action during the London session has been strong.

4. New York Close (End of US Session)

• Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM (EST)

• Overview: The New York close represents the final time of the day when institutional traders take profits or square up their positions; this can often lead to dramatic movements within the market. It is worth noting that this time provides a good window for trading the major market closes and finding entries based on daily price action.

• Best for: End-of-day consolidation, next trading session setups, and big price movements as positions are adjusted.

Key Notes:

• Overlap: The time between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM EST is the overlap between the London and New York sessions and is, therefore, the most volatile and liquid for Forex trading.

• Major Events: Be aware of the times of economic data releases and geopolitical events that may lead to Kill Zones of volatility.

• Time Zones: These times are given in GMT and EST, but at your location, it may be necessary to adjust the time for your local time zone.

By focusing on these Kill Zones, traders seek to provide the times when institutional activity will be at a maximum and give them the best opportunity to get on board with any big price moves.