In Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodologies, time plays a crucial role, perhaps as significant as price itself.
Understanding the right time to trade, combined with price action, provides an edge to traders following ICT strategies.
Time-based trading focuses on recognizing when institutional players—like banks and hedge funds—are most active, thus revealing liquidity and potential high-probability setups.
Let’s break down how time influences ICT strategies and look at detailed examples.
1. Key Market Sessions: London and New York Open
The London Open and New York Open are among the most critical times for trading in the ICT framework because that’s when institutions execute significant orders, creating volatility and opportunities.
These sessions overlap for a brief period, making it the most liquid and volatile part of the trading day.
Example: GBP/USD at London Open
London Session (8:00 AM UK time): The market sees a surge in liquidity, and often the direction for the day becomes clear.
For instance, during the London Open, you might observe a Break of Structure (BOS) or a liquidity sweep on the GBP/USD pair.
If the pair breaks lower, inducing a sell-off, it might then reverse higher during the overlap with the New York session as institutions shift to balance price.
2. Optimal Trading Times: Power of Hourly Cycles
ICT emphasizes that certain hours of the day are better suited for certain types of price movements.
Institutional traders typically aim to achieve their objectives during specific periods. For example:
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM EST: This is the most active period during the New York session.
Traders often see strong moves during this window as institutions engage with liquidity generated during the London session.
Example: EUR/USD Reversals at New York Open
Assume EUR/USD is in a downtrend, but as the New York session opens at 9:30 AM EST, price suddenly makes a sharp move lower, triggering sell stops.
After this move, a sharp reversal occurs, filling a Fair Value Gap (FVG) or rebalancing an Order Block.
ICT traders expect this because institutional players take advantage of the high liquidity to accumulate long positions at discount prices.
3. Time & Price Correlation: ICT’s Kill Zones
ICT identifies specific times as “Kill Zones,” where price is most likely to experience its most volatile and directional moves.
These kill zones are based on institutional trading behavior and are highly effective when combined with market structure analysis.
The two most famous kill zones are:
- London Kill Zone: 2:00 AM to 5:00 AM EST (pre-London and early London session)
- New York Kill Zone: 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM EST (pre-New York and New York session)
Example: ICT Kill Zone Trade in EUR/GBP
Let’s say you’re trading EUR/GBP.
You know that during the London Kill Zone (starting around 2:00 AM EST), price is likely to make a significant move, potentially setting the day’s trend.
During this period, the pair sweeps liquidity below an established support level.
As price breaks back above support around 3:00 AM, you enter long, expecting the move to continue as the institutional traders push price higher through the London session.
4. Weekly Time-Based Strategies: ICT Weekly Market Profile
ICT also uses the Weekly Market Profile to predict the behavior of price over the week based on time.
This approach assumes that Monday and Tuesday are often used by institutions to accumulate positions, while Wednesday through Friday are days when the market shows its real intent.
- Monday and Tuesday: Accumulation or manipulation. These days are often choppy as smart money seeks to induce false moves.
- Wednesday: Mid-week reversal or continuation. This is the day where the real trend often becomes apparent.
- Thursday and Friday: Trend continuation or profit-taking.
Example: Weekly Market Profile in USD/JPY
Assume USD/JPY has been consolidating between support and resistance on Monday and Tuesday.
Price breaks the range lower on Wednesday, indicating the true intent of the market.
Knowing this is the mid-week reversal, you place a short position on Wednesday, anticipating the trend will continue into Thursday and Friday as institutions aim to drive price to their final target.
5. ICT Midnight Open and Session Open Times
ICT also emphasizes the importance of session open times, including the Midnight Open (New York Midnight).
The Midnight Open acts as a reference point for daily price action.
This allows traders to gauge whether price is moving above or below a key institutional level as the day progresses.
Example: New York Midnight Open in USD/CAD
On Monday, the USD/CAD pair opens at midnight New York time (00:00 EST).
As the market progresses, price consistently remains above the Midnight Open level, signaling a bullish bias for the day.
As the London session opens, you notice a liquidity sweep just below the Midnight Open.
Price rebounds quickly and breaks higher, confirming that institutions are supporting price.
You take a long position, aligning with the bullish institutional bias.
6. Time Cycles: Seasonal and Intraday Cycles in ICT
Seasonal patterns and time cycles are another aspect of ICT’s time-based strategies.
These refer to tendencies for certain currencies or assets to exhibit predictable price behaviors during specific times of the year or month.
Example: USD Seasonality in ICT
Historically, the USD tends to strengthen during specific months due to factors like interest rate decisions, economic reports, or central bank policy.
ICT traders may look to position themselves long on USD pairs in the lead-up to these events, knowing that institutions are likely to align their trading strategies with these seasonal trends.
7. Time and Liquidity Runs: Timing Liquidity Sweeps
ICT strategies often rely on timing liquidity sweeps—when institutions push price below support or above resistance to collect retail stop-loss orders before reversing direction.
These sweeps typically occur during high-liquidity times, such as the London and New York sessions.
Example: Timing a Liquidity Sweep in EUR/GBP
Let’s say EUR/GBP is trading near support during the London Open.
As price dips below support, it triggers retail sell orders (a liquidity sweep).
Shortly after, price reverses sharply as institutions accumulate long positions.
ICT traders expect this manipulation, entering long right after the liquidity sweep, timing their entries to match institutional activity.
8. Conclusion
In ICT strategies, time is just as essential as price.
The timing of trades—from daily kill zones to weekly market profiles and session opens—reveals when institutional traders are most active and offers clues about liquidity, trend reversals, and market direction.
By aligning your trades with these critical times, you can trade in sync with smart money, increasing the probability of success.
Whether you’re trading the London Open, waiting for a Midnight Open reversal, or positioning for a weekly trend, mastering time in ICT can significantly enhance your trading precision.
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