Forex trades around the clock from Monday to Friday, but it still has an end to each day. That moment is 5 pm in New York, and anything you hold through it is treated differently from a trade you close before it.
This guide explains forex rollover in plain English: what happens to an open position at 5 pm New York, why spreads behave strangely around it, and what to check in MetaTrader 5.
Key takeaways
• 5 pm New York is the end of the forex trading day, and the start of the next one.
• Positions still open at that moment are charged or credited a swap.
• Forex positions held through Wednesday's rollover are usually charged three days of swap.
• Spreads often widen around the rollover, and some instruments pause briefly.
• Many MT5 servers are set so that a new daily candle starts at 5 pm New York.
What happens at the forex rollover?
At the forex rollover, at 5 pm New York time, the trading day ends and open positions are carried into the next day. Any position still open is charged or credited a swap, reflecting the interest difference between the two currencies plus a financing charge. Spreads often widen for a short time, and some instruments pause briefly.
Why 5 pm New York?
The forex market has no single exchange or closing bell. By convention, the trading day ends at 5 pm in New York, when the US session winds down and the new day begins in Asia-Pacific. That moment is when value dates move forward, swaps are calculated and many brokers start a new daily candle.
| Location | When the US is on summer time | When the US is on winter time |
|---|---|---|
| UTC / GMT | 21:00 | 22:00 |
| London | 22:00 | 22:00 |
| Frankfurt | 23:00 | 23:00 |
| Mumbai | 02:30 (next day) | 03:30 (next day) |
| Singapore | 05:00 (next day) | 06:00 (next day) |
The US and Europe change their clocks on different dates. For a week or two in March and in late October or early November, London and Frankfurt times move an hour earlier than shown.
Swap: the charge or credit on open positions
Spot forex trades settle two business days after they are made. When you hold a position past the rollover, it is rolled forward to a new settlement date, and you pay or receive the interest difference between the two currencies, adjusted by the broker's financing charge. That adjustment is the swap. It is calculated on your full position size, not on your margin.
Close before 5 pm New York and there is no swap, no matter how long the trade was open during the day. Open a trade at 4:59 pm and hold it past 5:00 pm, and it pays a full night's swap.
Why Wednesday counts three times
A position held through Wednesday's rollover settles on the following Monday, so it carries interest for the weekend as well. That is why forex swaps are usually tripled on Wednesday night. Some CFDs on metals, indices and commodities use a different day, often Friday. The 3-day swap line in each instrument's Specification window in MT5 shows the correct day.
One position, one week of rollovers
Suppose you buy 1 lot of EUR/USD on Monday morning; the swap long is -6.0 points, and one point on one lot is worth $1. You hold until Friday morning. Using illustrative figures:
| Rollover | Nights charged | Swap |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 5 pm | 1 | $6 |
| Tuesday 5 pm | 1 | $6 |
| Wednesday 5 pm (triple) | 3 | $18 |
| Thursday 5 pm | 1 | $6 |
| Total, closed Friday morning | 6 | $36 |
Closing on Thursday afternoon instead, before that night's rollover, would have saved $6. Closing on Wednesday afternoon would have saved $24. For short-term trades, the timing of your exit relative to 5 pm New York can matter as much as the spread. Check the current swap rates in MT5 before you hold, because they change as interest rates move.
Spreads widen around the rollover
Around 5 pm New York, liquidity is at its thinnest. The US session has finished, Asia has barely started, and liquidity providers settle positions and reset for the new day. With fewer quotes in the market, spreads can widen sharply for a few minutes, especially on minor and exotic pairs and on gold.
This is the same effect that catches traders out during news: a stop loss placed close to the price can be triggered by a brief spread spike even if the chart barely moves. Giving stops a little extra room overnight, or not placing new orders in the minutes around the rollover, avoids most of the problem.
Daily breaks on some instruments
Major currency pairs usually trade straight through the rollover. Several CFD instruments, such as gold, oil and some indices, have a short daily break around this time, during which you cannot open or close positions. The sessions are listed in each instrument's contract specification. When trading resumes, prices can jump to a new level, which affects any stop orders waiting there.
Daily candles and server time
The time shown at the top of the Market Watch window in MT5 is the server time, not your local time. Many brokers set their servers to two hours ahead of UTC in winter and three hours ahead in summer, so that midnight on the server lines up with 5 pm New York. That produces five clean daily candles a week, one per trading day. Check the server time once and note the difference from your own clock.
Your rollover checklist
1. Work out what 5 pm New York is in your time zone, and recheck when clocks change.
2. If you will hold overnight, read the swap long and swap short rates for your instrument.
3. Note the triple-swap day for anything you might hold through midweek.
4. Avoid opening trades or placing tight stops in the minutes around the rollover.
5. Check the trading sessions of CFDs with a daily break.
The forex rollover is a routine event, but it is the moment that turns a day trade into an overnight one, with costs and risks to match. Check your swap rates before you hold, and compare SnabbX Standard, Elite and ECN accounts on our Accounts page.
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Frequently asked questions
What time is the forex rollover?
The forex rollover is at 5 pm New York time. That is 22:00 in London for most of the year, and 21:00 or 22:00 UTC, depending on US daylight saving time.
Do I pay swap if I close my trade before 5 pm New York?
No. Swap is only applied to positions that are still open at the rollover, however long they were held during the day.
Why are swaps tripled on Wednesday?
Spot forex settles two business days after the trade, so a position rolled on Wednesday settles after the weekend and carries three days of interest. Some CFDs use a different day.
Why do spreads widen at 5 pm New York?
Liquidity is thin as the US session ends and providers reset for the new day. Fewer quotes in the market means a wider gap between the bid and ask for a few minutes.
Why does the time in MT5 differ from my local time?
MT5 shows the broker's server time. Many servers are set two or three hours ahead of UTC so that each new daily candle starts at 5 pm New York.
