ICT killzones are certain time periods in a day that will likely produce high-probability setups based on ICT concepts. Many traders using the Inner Circle Trader’s concepts, including myself, limit their trading and execution activity to ICT killzone times, as it both mitigates the risk and offers higher potential rewards.
In this article, I’ll try to provide you with a comprehensive explanation of what ICT killzones are, when they are, and how you can use them to improve your results, for CFDs, futures, and even binary options trading.
- ICT Killzones are specific periods during the trading day where volatility, liquidity, and institutional activity are at their highest, leading to better trade setups.
- Limiting your trading to ICT Killzone times reduces risk, improves consistency, and avoids overtrading.
- They are ideal for trading forex majors, CFDs, futures, and binary options due to clearer price action and stronger moves.
- Always combine killzones with higher timeframe bias, liquidity zones, and news awareness for better results.
- Asian Killzone (7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST): Lower volatility, tight ranges, best for scalping or trading Eastern pairs like AUD/USD, NZD/USD, USD/JPY.
- London Open Killzone (2:00 AM – 5:00 AM EST): High volatility, breakouts, liquidity grabs around Asian highs/lows, key moves on EUR/USD & GBP/USD.
- New York Open Killzone (7:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST): Overlaps London, peak volatility, strong moves post-news releases (8:30 AM & 10:00 AM), best time for USD pairs and indices.
- London Close Killzone (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST): Lower volatility, market often consolidates or retraces as European traders exit positions; better suited for scalping.
What Are ICT Killzones?
If you’ve been learning ICT concepts, you’ve probably heard traders mention “Killzones” all the time. But what exactly are they?
ICT Killzone times are specific periods in the trading day when the market sees increased volatility and liquidity. In simple terms, these are time windows when the big players, like banks, hedge funds, and institutional traders, are most active. This is what we like to see as ICT traders, as our goal is to understand and profit from the price moves created by these major players.
Now, ICT killzones are not just random times. They’re mostly based on the openings and overlaps of major financial markets, like London, New York, and Asia.
During the killzones, there’s a higher chance of sharp price moves, stop hunts, liquidity grabs, and manipulation, everything we, as smart money traders, want to spot and take advantage of. This is when you’ll often see prices sweep highs or lows, fill imbalances and fair value gaps, and react to key levels. So, ICT killzones can be the best time to trade binary options, CFDs, or futures, as you’re trading alongside big money, not against it.
ICT Killzone Times Breakdown
Now that I’ve briefly introduced ICT killzones and explained why we’re looking for them, it’s time to check out when they actually are for forex.
While the forex market consists of a lot of different currency pairs, in ICT trading, we focus on the majors, which are the pairs including the currencies of major economies on one side, and the US dollar on the other side.
So, here are the ICT Killzone times forex traders use:
| Killzone | New York Time (EST) | GMT Time |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Killzone | 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM | 12:00 AM – 3:00 AM |
| London Open Killzone | 2:00 AM – 5:00 AM | 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM |
| New York Open Killzone | 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM |
| London Close Killzone | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM |
Asian Killzone
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST (12:00 AM – 3:00 AM GMT)
The ICT Asian Killzone is mostly suited for trading pairs of Eastern currencies against the US Dollar. While I don’t personally like trading during this time, especially because of my timezone and limited volatility, many traders do.
Characteristics:
- Lower volatility compared to other killzones.
- Price often consolidates within tight ranges.
- Ideal for trading Eastern pairs like AUD/USD, NZD/USD, and USD/JPY.
- It sets the stage for potential liquidity grabs during the ICT London Killzone.
- Focus on scalping strategies targeting a maximum of15-20 pips.
- Look for optimal trade entry (OTE) setups.
- Be cautious of false breakouts due to low volatility.
- Pay attention to its highs and lows for potential liquidity sweeps during the London session
London Open Killzone
2:00 AM – 5:00 AM EST (7:00 AM – 10:00 AM GMT)
The ICT London Open Killzone is when the forex market starts its first significant move of the day. There are often 1-2 high-probability setups forming in the London Open Killzone which mostly form based on a stop raid above or below the Asian Killzone’s high and low.
Characteristics:
- High volatility with significantly increased trading volume relative to the Asian session.
- It can create the day’s high or low.
- EUR/USD and GBP/USD are highly active.
- Breakouts or stop hunts above and below the Asian range are highly probable.
- Look for liquidity grabs around Asian session highs and lows.
- Asian high/low liquidity sweeps can lead to reversals early in the London killzone.
- If the market moves choppy in the London killzone, it’s likely a rangebound day and you can remian on the sidelines.
- Between 3-4 AM New York time, there are often great trading setups.
- London open killzone’s high and low can be targeted for liquidity hunts in the New York Open Killzone.
New York Open Killzone
7:00 AM – 10:00 AM EST (12:00 PM – 3:00 PM GMT)
Another great window of opportunity to trade major currency pairs is the ICT New York Open Killzone. At 8:30 AM and/or 10 AM EST, medium to high-impact US economic news and data are often released, which could lead to rapid moves in the market and create the final significant wave of the day.
Characteristics:
- Overlaps with the London session, making it the most volatile and liquid time of the day.
- It will either be a pullback/consolidation phase or include an impulsive move depending on how the London Open Killzone has behaved.
- Economic news releases often occur during this period, at 8:30 and 10 AM EST, and will cause high volatility.
- This is also the best time to trade index futures or CFDs, particularly the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.
- Always check the economic calendar for scheduled news events.
- Watch for potential reversals or continuations of the London session trends.
- The best trade setups present between 8:30 and 9 AM EST, and 10-10:30 EST.
- Manage your risk according to the high-impact news, as they can cause a lot of slippage and unfilled orders.
- Sweeps of London session’s highs and lows can create ideal reversal setups.
London Close Killzone
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST (3:00 PM – 5:00 PM GMT)
The ICT London Close Killzone is another period that I don’t personally like trading, because of low volatility. This session often includes consolidation or correction, as the primary move of the day is likely already done. So, unless you have a clear strategy for scalping this in this Killzone, I don’t recommend trading it.
Characteristics:
- The market often retraces or consolidates as European traders close positions.
- Potential for reversals or corrections of earlier trends.
- Lower volatility compared to the London and New York opens.
- You can identify trend exhaustion points to capture small reversals.
- It’s better suited for scalpers, as the potential trades will be too short even for day traders.
- Reduced volatility makes it a sub-optimal period for binary options trading.
Why Are ICT Killzones Important?
ICT Killzones aren’t just random time slots; they’re periods when the market is alive and moving with purpose. During the Killzones, you’ll notice a clear shift in behavior as volatility increases, liquidity flows, and manipulation becomes more obvious. This is when institutional traders step in, hunting stops, sweeping liquidity, and setting up large positions. For those of us following smart money concepts, these are the windows where the real opportunities show up.
Trading outside of these killzones often means dealing with low volatility and unpredictable, choppy moves. Inside the killzones, though, you get clearer price action, cleaner setups, and even better risk-to-reward opportunities. This is true for binary options trading as well. Since most binary options strategies rely heavily on short-term price movements, trading during killzones increases the chance of strong, directional moves.
Common Mistakes When Trading ICT Killzones
One of the biggest mistakes traders make is thinking every Killzone will give them a perfect setup. They jump in during every session without waiting for confluence. Not checking if the price aligns with key levels, liquidity zones, or your daily bias is a recipe for failure. That’s how you end up overtrading and getting chopped up.
Another common issue is ignoring news events. Just because it’s an ICT Killzone time doesn’t mean the price will behave cleanly. This is especially true if there’s major news dropping. High-impact news releases can spike volatility in unpredictable ways and wipe out your positions.
Also, don’t fall into the trap of risking more just because volatility is high and setups look clean. ICT Killzone times aren’t guaranteed trend periods. Some sessions will consolidate or move sideways, and without a clear daily bias, it’s easy to get caught in bad trades.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, if you’re serious about improving your trading results, I highly recommend focusing your trading only on the ICT Killzone times. That’s because they simply offer the best conditions: high volatility, clear liquidity targets, and institutional activity. This also helps you limit your trading to certain periods and avoid overtrading, which can be a beginner trader’s number one enemy.
And if you’re unsure about limiting your trading to the ICT Killzone times only, you can always try them out by paper trading or backtesting on TradingView, or even use free binary options demo accounts to see for yourself.
