EUROPEAN SESSION (LONDON): 2 A.M.–12 P.M. EST

London is the largest and most important dealing center in the world,
with a market share at more than 30 percent according to the BIS survey.
Most of the dealing desks of large banks are located in London; the majority
of major FX transactions are completed during London hours due
to the market’s high liquidity and efficiency.

The vast number of market participants and their high transaction value make London the most volatile FX market of all. As shown in Figure 5.3, half of the 12 major pairs surpass the 80 pips line, the benchmark that we used to identify volatile pairs with GBP/JPY and GBP/CHF reaching as high as 140 and
146 pips respectively.