The London Open is the most predictable liquidity event in the forex week. European banks come online, volume explodes, and overnight Asian ranges get broken with conviction. If you can resist trading the chop before it, you can capture the move when it happens.
The setup in one paragraph
Mark the high and low of the Asian session (00:00–07:00 UTC). Wait for London Open (07:00 UTC). Enter on the first clean 15-minute close outside the Asian range, in the direction of the higher-timeframe bias. Stop on the opposite side of the range. Target 1: the range size. Target 2: previous day's high/low.
The full ruleset
Pre-session prep
- · Pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD only
- · Mark Asian range 00:00–07:00 UTC
- · Skip if range > 60 pips (already extended)
- · Check daily bias on H4
Entry trigger
- · 15M candle closes outside range
- · Direction matches H4 bias
- · Enter on the close, not the wick
- · Window: 07:00–10:00 UTC only
Risk & stops
- · 0.5% account risk, hard cap
- · Stop: opposite side of range + 2 pip buffer
- · Move to BE after price = 1× range
Targets
- · TP1: 50% out at 1× range
- · TP2: trail to previous day high/low
- · Close all by 12:00 UTC
When NOT to trade it
- Red-folder news in the London or NY session — skip the day
- Mondays after a major weekend gap
- Last trading day of the month (flow distortion)
- Asian range under 12 pips — not enough structure
The fakeout — and how to use it
Roughly 1 in 4 London Opens is a fakeout: price breaks one side, sweeps stops, then reverses. The defense is simple — never chase a wick. Wait for the 15M close. If the close happens, hold to BE. If it doesn't, you weren't in the trade in the first place.
The bonus play: when price closes back inside the range on the next 15M candle, that failed breakout becomes one of the highest-probability counter-trade setups of the day, targeting the opposite side of the range.
One window. One trade. Close the laptop.