Forex trading is the exchange of one currency for another, where most of this exchange occurs on the Forex market, a global decentralised market which is open 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday. As the Forex market is decentralised, it does not rely on exchanges and instead operates through a network of international banks.
The Forex market is the largest market in the world with a daily trading volume of approximately 5 trillion USD. Because so much currency is constantly being traded, exchange rates are always fluctuating, and Forex traders seek to take advantage of this volatility.
Though the Forex market operates 24 hours a day, volatility tends to peak during the normal opening hours of stock markets in Sydney, Tokyo, New York and London. The highest volume of trading generally occurs at the overlap of the London and New York opening hours