Forex volatility by session: average daily range
How far each market usually moves in a day and in each trading session (20-day averages), and its busiest hours: gold, major pairs, US indices and Bitcoin.
| Market | Day (ADR) | Asia (23-07 UTC) | London (07-12 UTC) | New York (12-17 UTC) | Late US (17-23 UTC) | Busiest hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDUSD | 45.3 pips | 24.3 | 20.0 | 26.6 | 14.2 | 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST |
| BTCUSD | 2,007 points | 1,037 | 760 | 1,289 | 806 | 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
| EURGBP | 30.4 pips | 12.8 | 16.2 | 15.8 | 12.9 | 21:00 UTC · 02:00 PKT · 02:30 IST 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST |
| EURJPY | 118 pips | 65.5 | 67.5 | 60.8 | 31.3 | 08:00 UTC · 13:00 PKT · 13:30 IST 07:00 UTC · 12:00 PKT · 12:30 IST |
| EURUSD | 67.7 pips | 31.4 | 35.2 | 40.1 | 21.2 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 07:00 UTC · 12:00 PKT · 12:30 IST |
| GBPJPY | 134 pips | 70.3 | 69.1 | 70.2 | 37.4 | 08:00 UTC · 13:00 PKT · 13:30 IST 07:00 UTC · 12:00 PKT · 12:30 IST |
| GBPUSD | 73.6 pips | 32.5 | 35.3 | 45.5 | 22.7 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST |
| NAS100 | 526 points | 228 | 187 | 364 | 188 | 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
| NZDUSD | 40.9 pips | 23.8 | 18.0 | 22.9 | 13.8 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST |
| US30 | 610 points | 197 | 270 | 460 | 186 | 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST |
| US500 | 79.5 points | 27.2 | 28.3 | 56.8 | 29.0 | 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
| USDCAD | 64.9 pips | 25.1 | 26.8 | 45.0 | 21.3 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
| USDCHF | 52.6 pips | 26.0 | 25.3 | 33.5 | 20.9 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST |
| USDJPY | 87.0 pips | 62.1 | 42.3 | 49.1 | 26.9 | 14:00 UTC · 19:00 PKT · 19:30 IST 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST |
| XAGUSD | 194 pips | 113 | 64.5 | 125 | 54.3 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
| XAUUSD | 681 pips | 428 | 270 | 467 | 214 | 12:00 UTC · 17:00 PKT · 17:30 IST 13:00 UTC · 18:00 PKT · 18:30 IST |
How to read it
Ranges are averages of the last 20 trading days: the day column from daily bars, the session columns from hourly bars in fixed UTC windows (London and New York shift by an hour with summer time). Example: if XAUUSD shows a London range of 120 pips ($12) and London has already moved 110, most of the usual move is done.
Questions
What is ADR?
Average daily range: the average distance between each day's high and low over the last 20 days, in pips (points for indices and Bitcoin). It shows how far a market usually travels in a day.
Which session moves gold the most?
Usually London and New York; the table shows the latest numbers. The busiest hours are listed in UTC, Pakistan (PKT) and India (IST) time.
How do I use it for stops and targets?
A target bigger than the rest of the day's usual range is less likely to be hit today; a stop much smaller than a session's usual range is easily touched by normal noise.