Most futures trade almost around the clock, but not all of them, and the times that matter to a trader in Europe are not the times printed in the exchange specifications. Everything below is given in US Eastern Time (ET), converted from the exchanges’ own schedules (CME publishes in Central Time, ICE US in New York time), and then to German time (MEZ in winter, MESZ in summer; CET/CEST). The table below is built from the hours on each contract page.
The pattern in one paragraph
The CME’s electronic platform, Globex, trades most interest rate, equity index, metal, energy and currency futures from Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET to Friday 5:00 p.m. ET, with a one-hour break from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET each weekday. For a trader in Germany that is the week from Monday 00:00 to Friday 23:00, with the break from 23:00 to 00:00. The index futures settle daily at 4:00 p.m. ET, energy and metals earlier in the afternoon – crude oil from trading between 2:28 and 2:30 p.m. ET, gold at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The time difference changes twice a year
The US and Europe change clocks on different dates. The US moves on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November, Europe on the last Sunday of March and October. For most of the year Germany is six hours ahead of New York. In the weeks between the two changes (March and again late October to early November) it is only five hours. In 2026, for example, Europe returned to winter time on 25 October and the US follows on 1 November, so the gap is five hours until then. This guide converts at ET + 6 hours; subtract one hour from the converted time in those weeks. The exchange’s own schedule stays fixed in Chicago/New York time, so the “time on the clock” in Germany shifts.
Trading hours by market
| Contract | Session | Hours ET | German time (ET + 6 h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ES E-mini S&P 500 | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| ZN 10-Year T-Note | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| GC Gold | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| CL Crude Oil (WTI) | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| NG Natural Gas (Henry Hub) | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| 6E Euro FX | CME Globex (electronic) | Sun–Fri 6:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. | 00:00 – 23:00 |
| ZC Corn | Overnight session (Globex) | Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. | 02:00 – 14:45 |
| Day session (Globex) | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. | 15:30 – 20:20 | |
| ZS Soybeans | Overnight session (Globex) | Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m. | 02:00 – 14:45 |
| Day session (Globex) | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:20 p.m. | 15:30 – 20:20 | |
| LE Live Cattle | CME Globex | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:05 p.m. | 15:30 – 20:05 |
| HE Lean Hogs | CME Globex | Mon–Fri 9:30 a.m. – 2:05 p.m. | 15:30 – 20:05 |
| LBR Lumber | CME Globex | Mon–Fri 10:00 a.m. – 4:05 p.m. | 16:00 – 22:05 |
| KC Coffee | ICE trading hours | Mon–Fri 4:15 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | 10:15 – 19:30 (ICE US) |
| CC Cocoa | ICE trading hours | Mon–Fri 4:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. | 10:45 – 19:30 (ICE US) |
| SB Sugar No. 11 | ICE trading hours | Mon–Fri 3:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | 09:30 – 19:00 (ICE US) |
| BTC Bitcoin | CME Globex (electronic) | 24 hours, 7 days a week | 24 hours, 7 days a week |
Read a grain entry such as “Sun–Fri 8:00 p.m. – 8:45 a.m.” as: the session opens Sunday to Thursday evening and closes Monday to Friday morning. Day names in the German-time column are left out on purpose: after the conversion, Sunday 6:00 p.m. ET is Monday 00:00 in Germany, and an evening close of 5:00 p.m. ET is 23:00 the same day. Times from the contract pages; check the exchange’s schedule for holidays and special sessions.
The exceptions
- Grains and oilseeds (Corn (ZC), Soybeans (ZS), Chicago SRW Wheat (ZW)) have two sessions: an overnight session in the evening US time and a day session. Between them there is a break of 45 minutes in the morning (8:45 to 9:30 a.m. ET for corn), and after the day session ends in the afternoon the market is closed until the evening session reopens.
- Livestock (Live Cattle (LE), Lean Hogs (HE)) trade only during US daytime and are closed overnight. They have the shortest session (4 h 35 min).
- Lumber (LBR) also trades only in the US day, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. ET.
- ICE softs (cocoa, coffee, sugar, cotton, orange juice) trade in their own sessions – coffee, cocoa and sugar from the morning to the early evening in Germany, cotton from 03:00, orange juice only in the afternoon – and all close before the US stock market does. Each has its own hours: look them up on the contract page.
- Crypto futures (Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH)) trade around the clock since May 2026, apart from a two-minute pause Monday to Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET and a weekly maintenance window on Saturday from 3:00 to 5:00 a.m. ET.
When the market is busiest
Liquidity is concentrated in a few hours. The most active hours for US index, interest rate and energy futures are the New York morning, from about 8:30 a.m. to noon ET (14:30 to 18:00 German time), and for index futures also the last hour before the 4:00 p.m. ET close; crude oil is busiest again in the run-up to its 2:30 p.m. ET settlement. This is an indicative picture from hourly volume, not an exchange statistic. Overnight sessions are thinner: spreads are wider and a news item moves the price more. Reports such as the US jobs figures or EIA stocks are released at fixed times in this window (see trading around reports). The US jobs report, for example, comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET (14:30 German time).
Holidays and early closes
On US holidays the schedule changes: some products do not trade, others close early, and settlement may be moved. The days around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year deserve a look at the CME holiday calendar before you hold a position. Weekend risk is a real consideration: Friday’s close is followed by Sunday’s evening open in New York, and anything that happens in between is priced at the open.
Each contract page shows the hours and the current status (open or closed) on the page itself.
Educational content only – not investment advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.