Forex Daylight Saving Time in 2026
The United States changes clocks on 8 March and 1 November 2026. The UK and EU change on 29 March and 25 October. Those three-week gaps are when a fixed UTC alarm for the London–New York overlap is wrong.
Overlap in UTC, by season
London is 08:00–17:00 local. New York is 08:00–17:00 local. Their overlap is 13:00–17:00 UTC in winter and 12:00–16:00 UTC when both are on daylight time. From 8 to 28 March 2026, and again from 25 to 31 October, only one side has changed, and the overlap runs 12:00–17:00 UTC.
- 8 MarUS springs forward
- 29 MarUK & EU follow
- 25 OctUK & EU fall back
- 1 NovUS falls back
2026 clock-change dates
Local civil time. Session clocks on FxOpenHours follow the timezone database, so the homepage already applies these dates.
| Region | Clocks forward | Clocks back | Offset change |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States, Canada (most) | Sun 8 Mar 2026, 02:00 | Sun 1 Nov 2026, 02:00 | UTC−5 → UTC−4 |
| United Kingdom | Sun 29 Mar 2026, 01:00 GMT | Sun 25 Oct 2026, 02:00 BST | UTC+0 → UTC+1 |
| European Union | Sun 29 Mar 2026, 02:00 CET | Sun 25 Oct 2026, 03:00 CEST | UTC+1 → UTC+2 |
| Sydney, Melbourne | Sun 4 Oct 2026, 02:00 | Sun 5 Apr 2026, 03:00 | UTC+10 → UTC+11 |
Turkey, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, and Brazil do not change clocks. Their local forex timetable still moves whenever London or New York does.
What the overlap actually does
A common line says the March gap “cuts the overlap to three hours.” The 2026 calendar does the opposite. New York springs forward first, so its session moves earlier in UTC (12:00–21:00) while London is still 08:00–17:00 UTC. The shared window becomes five hours, 12:00–17:00 UTC, until 29 March.
| Period in 2026 | London in UTC | New York in UTC | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan – 7 Mar | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 | 13:00–17:00 (4h) |
| 8 Mar – 28 Mar | 08:00–17:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 12:00–17:00 (5h) |
| 29 Mar – 24 Oct | 07:00–16:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 12:00–16:00 (4h) |
| 25 Oct – 31 Oct | 08:00–17:00 | 12:00–21:00 | 12:00–17:00 (5h) |
| 1 Nov – 31 Dec | 08:00–17:00 | 13:00–22:00 | 13:00–17:00 (4h) |
Local wall clocks in each city barely change: London traders still see the busy patch in their afternoon, New York traders still see it from the cash open until noon. The people who get caught are anyone using a fixed UTC or broker-server alarm copied from January.
Broker server time
Many MT4 and MT5 servers stay on GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer, tracking Europe. A New York cash open that prints at 15:00 server time in January can print at 15:00 again in summer if the server followed Europe — or at 14:00 if the server never changes. Read the broker’s stated offset before you move pending orders the weekend of 8 March or 29 March.
Australia runs the other way
Sydney is on daylight time from early October to early April, which is northern winter. In January 2026 a London 08:00 GMT open is 19:00 in Sydney; after Australia ends daylight time on 5 April, and before Europe starts it, the same London open is 18:00 Sydney. Use the Sydney session clock rather than a printed card across that weekend.
Frequently asked questions
When does daylight saving time change forex hours in 2026?
US and most of Canada: 8 March and 1 November. UK and EU: 29 March and 25 October. Eastern Australia: 5 April (clocks back) and 4 October (clocks forward). The London–New York mismatch windows are 8–28 March and 25–31 October.
Does the overlap get shorter in March?
Not in 2026. Because the US changes first, the overlap lengthens to about five hours (12:00–17:00 UTC) until Europe changes on 29 March. The usual four-hour overlap returns once both sides are on daylight time.
What is the summer overlap in UTC?
12:00–16:00 UTC from 29 March through 24 October 2026. On local clocks that is still 08:00–12:00 New York and 13:00–17:00 London.
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