ICT Killzones Explained
ICT killzones are a few time windows in the forex day when, according to the popular trading educator ICT, the most meaningful moves tend to start. They are built around the London and New York opens: the hours when liquidity and volatility jump.
This lesson gives you the times in New York time and UTC, explains the logic in plain English and shows how to use killzones as a simple filter for when you trade, not as a signal for what to trade.
Risk warning: This content is for educational purposes only and not financial advice. Forex trading involves risk, and you can lose money.
What are ICT killzones?
ICT stands for The Inner Circle Trader, the online name of Michael J. Huddleston. His free videos made ideas like liquidity sweeps, order blocks and fair value gaps popular with retail traders.
A killzone is his name for a window of a few hours in which he expects the important price action of a session to happen: the push that sets the high or low of the day, the run through obvious stops, or the start of the trend. Outside those windows, his approach mostly waits.
The idea is not magic. It is a sharper way of saying what every session guide tells you: price moves most when big markets open and when important news comes out. If you already know the forex trading sessions, killzones are a zoomed-in version of the same clock.
The four killzones (times)
ICT quotes killzones in New York time. The exact boundaries differ a little between his videos, indicators and websites, so treat these as the common version, not an official standard.
| Killzone | New York time | UTC (winter) | UTC (US summer time) | What traders watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 20:00 - 00:00 | 01:00 - 05:00 | 00:00 - 04:00 | The overnight range that later sessions often break or raid |
| London open | 02:00 - 05:00 | 07:00 - 10:00 | 06:00 - 09:00 | Often the first big move of the day, sometimes after a fake move |
| New York open | 07:00 - 10:00 | 12:00 - 15:00 | 11:00 - 14:00 | US data at 08:30, the London overlap and the US stock open at 09:30 |
| London close | 10:00 - 12:00 | 15:00 - 17:00 | 14:00 - 16:00 | Profit taking, sometimes a pullback against the day's move |
Some traders use shorter windows, for example 08:30 - 11:00 New York time for the New York open on indices, or 20:00 - 22:00 for the Asian killzone. The core idea stays the same.
In European local time the main windows are easy to remember: the London open killzone is about 07:00 - 10:00 in London (08:00 - 11:00 in Paris or Brussels) and the New York open killzone about 12:00 - 15:00 in London (13:00 - 16:00 in Paris or Brussels). That holds all year, except for a few weeks in spring and autumn when the US and Europe change their clocks on different dates.
Why these hours? (the logic)
- Liquidity arrives: when London or New York opens, banks, funds and companies start trading, so volume jumps. More volume means bigger, cleaner moves.
- Stops get hit first: obvious highs and lows from the Asian session hold a lot of stop orders. Early in London, price often runs those levels before the real direction shows. ICT calls this early fake move the Judas swing; on this site you will find it as a liquidity sweep.
- News is scheduled: most important US data comes out at 08:30 New York time, inside the New York killzone. That is why it is often the most volatile window of the day.
- Two big centres overlap: from the New York open until London closes, both markets are active. This overlap is usually the busiest part of the day.
How to use killzones (beginner version)
- Pick one killzone: start with the London open or the New York open, whichever fits your day. Ignore the rest.
- Prepare before it starts: mark the Asian range, yesterday's high and low and the obvious key levels.
- Wait for your setup inside the window: a break and retest, a sweep and reclaim, or whatever your plan uses. No setup means no trade.
- Risk first: put the stop loss where the idea is wrong, then size the trade so a loss stays within your risk per trade.
- Stop when the window closes: if nothing happened, you are done for the session. This rule alone cuts a lot of overtrading.
- Journal by killzone: tag every trade with its killzone. After 30 to 50 trades you will see which window works for you, and which one only feels exciting.
What killzones don't do
- They don't give direction: a killzone says a move is likely, not whether price goes up or down.
- They don't fix bad entries: a random entry at 08:00 is still a random entry.
- They are not precise: sources use different times, and big moves also happen outside the windows.
- They come with costs: around news, spreads widen and slippage increases. Fast markets punish market orders and very tight stops.
- They are not proven for every market: test them on your own pairs with a backtest and a forward test before you trust them.
Killzones and daylight saving time
Killzones are defined in New York time, so in UTC they move when the US changes its clocks: one hour earlier during US summer time (from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November).
Europe changes on other dates (the last Sundays of March and October). For a few weeks each year the gap between London and New York is one hour shorter than usual, and killzones based on New York time shift against the London session.
Simple fix: when you study killzones, set your chart time zone to New York (UTC-5 in winter, UTC-4 in summer) or use an indicator that converts the times for you. In TradingView you find it in the chart settings, under time zone.
Which pairs fit which killzone?
- Asian: USD/JPY, AUD/USD, NZD/USD and AUD/JPY. Moves are often smaller and many pairs range, which is why traders mark this range for later.
- London open: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, EUR/GBP and GBP/JPY. The pound and the euro are most active here.
- New York open: EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, USD/CAD and gold (XAU/USD). US data moves every USD pair.
- London close: the same majors, with more chance of pullbacks than fresh trends.
See the details per pair in best trading hours by pair.
FAQ (ICT killzones)
Are killzones the same as trading sessions?
No. A session lasts about nine hours. A killzone is a window of two to four hours around a session open, where ICT expects most of the important movement.
Which killzone is best for beginners?
Usually the London open or the New York open, because liquidity is high and spreads are normally tight. Choose the one you can trade calmly, without rushing and without trading tired.
Do killzones work for gold and indices?
Many traders use the New York killzone for gold (XAU/USD) and US indices, because US data and the US stock open fall inside it. The same rules apply: volatility is higher, so trade smaller.
What is the ICT Silver Bullet?
Another ICT time window, usually 10:00 - 11:00 New York time, used for one specific setup. It is a narrower version of the same idea: only trade in a short, planned window.
