Daylight Saving Time and Forex
Clock changes look like a detail, but twice a year they break familiar reference points: sessions and data releases shift relative to your local time while the schedule in your head stays the same.
Why everything shifts at once
Session and release schedules are tied to the local time of financial centres, not to UTC. When London changes its clocks, London's 08:00 moves relative to UTC — and therefore relative to your time, if your country does not change clocks. Traders in regions without daylight saving feel the full shift twice a year.
Different changeover dates
Europe and the United States do not change clocks on the same day: the American change is earlier in spring and later in autumn. As a result, twice a year there is a gap of several weeks in which the relative position of the sessions differs from usual and the London–New York overlap shifts by an hour. Australia and New Zealand add further confusion by changing clocks in the opposite direction relative to the northern hemisphere.
What this changes in practice
Three things. The hour of American data in your local time changes, so a reminder set for the previous season starts firing at the wrong moment. Session opening hours shift, and the familiar 'the market wakes up at eleven' stops working. Swap crediting time is also tied to the venue's local time and can move to a different hour.
What to check in your terminal
Your broker's server time is a separate quantity that matches neither UTC nor your own time zone, and candles and the day boundary are built on it. After a changeover, verify that the daily candle boundary sits where you expect: at some brokers it shifts, and daily levels start being calculated differently. The simplest check is against the calendar, comparing the actual publication time with the expected one.
This material is educational and is not individual investment advice. Trading forex carries the risk of losing capital.
Frequently asked questions
Why does data come out at a different time after the clocks change?
Because release schedules are tied to a country's local time, not to UTC. If your clocks do not change while those in the US or Europe do, the local hour of publication shifts.
When do Europe and the US change clocks?
On different dates: the American change is earlier in spring and later in autumn. That creates several weeks twice a year with an unfamiliar relative position of the sessions.
Does the clock change affect daily candles?
It can. The daily candle boundary is set by broker server time, and at some brokers it moves with the changeover, so daily levels start being built differently.
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