Commodity market hours

The huge range of commodity markets available on exchanges all over the world means that active commodity traders can find opportunities nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week. Discover when commodity markets open and close, and when the best time to trade commodities is.

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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 06:00 and 07:00 SGT, 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)	07:00 Monday to 06:00 Saturday (except 06:00 to 07:00)	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 5:00 to 6:00)
UK Crude (Brent)	07:00 Monday to 06:00 Saturday (except 07:00 to 09:00)	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 6:00 to 08:00)
Heating Oil	N/A	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 5:00 to 6:00)
Gas Oil	N/A	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 6:00 to 08:00)
Gold	07:00 Monday to 06:00 Saturday (except from 06:00 to 07:00)	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 5:00 to 6:00)
Silver	07:00 Monday to 06:00 Saturday (except from 06:00 to 07:00)	6:00 Monday to 5:00 Saturday (except from 5:00 to 6:00)
Corn	N/A	08:00 Monday to 02:15 Saturday (except 20:45 to 21:30)
London Wheat	N/A	16:25 Monday to 00:28 Saturday

To see more of our commodity hours, open an account and take a look at each market’s information in our platform.

What impacts the volatility of commodities trading?

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 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 22:00 to 15:30 SGT, when the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) is open, 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 16:00 SGT and the Wall Street open at 21:00 SGT. 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 platform
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 impacts the volatility of oil trading?

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 (22:00 – 15:30 SGT). The NYMEX closed its trading pit for good in 2016, but volume is still often raised during these hours.