What are the commodity market hours?
Commodity market hours are virtually 24 hours a day, five days a week – most close from Friday evening to Sunday – depending on which market you choose. Unlike forex market hours, there are no global sessions to watch out for. Instead, commodity hours are generally split up by asset type and the commodity exchange in question.
Commodity market opening times
Most commodity trading takes place on futures exchanges. Unlike stock exchanges, though, futures can be bought and sold almost 24-hours a day (except on weekends). So instead of watching for when a specific exchange is open, you can just pay attention to when your trading provider offers each market.
There may, however, be specific breaks or sessions on a certain exchange that you may want to be aware of. WTI futures, for example, typically have a trading break between 9pm and 10pm (GMT) – so you won’t be able to trade US crude between these hours.
Ready to start trading commodities? Open a live account, or a try a free demo.
Our commodity trading times
Take a look at the table below for the trading hours of some of our most popular markets, including gold, oil, and silver.
Market name |
Spot (non-expiring contracts) |
Futures |
|---|---|---|
| US Crude (WTI) | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| UK Crude (Brent) | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| Heating Oil | N/A | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| Gas Oil | N/A | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| Gold | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| Silver | 23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
23:00 Sunday to 22:00 Friday (except from 22:00pm to 23:00pm) |
| Corn | N/A | 01:00 Sunday to 19:15 Friday (Except from 13:45 to 14:30) |
| London Wheat | N/A | 09:25 to 17:28 Sunday to Monday |
To see more of our commodity hours, open an account and take a look at each market’s information in our trading platforms.
What is the best time to trade commodities?
Not all commodity trading hours will experience the same levels of activity, which makes it important for you to know when to enter and exit the market to achieve the best results for your strategy.
Obviously, the best time of day to trade will vary by commodity market, and depending on which commodity exchange you’re using, but here are a few popular trading sessions for commodities.
- WTI Crude Oil: During the traditional pit trading hours of 9:00am to 2:30am EST WTI crude exhibits high trading volumes
- Agricultural Futures: Any release of the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report will have an influence on trading volume on agricultural markets – such as corn, wheat and soybeans – which will impact prices
- Gold: There’s usually greater volatility around the London session open at 8am (GMT), and the Wall Street open at 1:30pm (GMT). This is because whenever the opening bell rings, there’s a rush of orders
How to start trading commodities
To take your position on oil, gold, silver or more, follow these four steps:
- Open a City Index live account
- Browse major commodities markets in our trading platforms
- Choose to go long or short
- Open your position
You can also try a demo account if you’re not ready to commit real capital.
Commodity hours FAQs
Are commodities traded 24 hours?
Yes, most commodities markets are available for round-the-clock trading – although they’ll close at the weekend, and some have set trading breaks. If you’re interested in 24-hour trading, commodities and forex are both useful options.
What is the best time to trade oil?
Oil tends to hit peak volatility around major news releases (such as OPEC meetings). Alternatively, intra-day liquidity tends to be highest during the NYMEX’s ‘pit trading’ session (9.00am-2.30am EST). The NYMEX closed its trading pit for good in 2016, but volume is still often raised during these hours.