Best Times to Trade 6Z Futures
If you just open 6Z futures whenever you feel like it, you’re volunteering to get slipped, whipped, and stopped. The best times to trade 6Z futures are when liquidity, volume, and volatility line up in your favor. This isn’t random; 6Z volume follows a repeatable daily rhythm built around South African business hours, European flows, and U.S. data.
First, Know When 6Z Is Actually Trading
6Z trades on the CME Globex platform almost 23 hours a day during the week. The pattern is simple:
- Sunday evening open in the U.S. (Globex starts the week).
- Daily trading from late afternoon U.S. time through the next afternoon.
- A short maintenance break each weekday around the U.S. afternoon.
So “when is it open?” is the wrong question. The real question is: when is it liquid and worth touching? That’s where volume cycles and session behavior matter.
The Three Main 6Z Trading Phases
On a typical weekday, 6Z volume clusters into three broad phases:
| Phase | Rough Time (U.S.) | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Asia Session | Early evening to late night | Thin, choppy, prone to random spikes |
| London / South Africa | Very late night to early U.S. morning | Core liquidity, better follow-through |
| U.S. Session | U.S. morning through early afternoon | Data-driven spikes, often directional bursts |
6Z is most “honest” when South African and European money is active, and most chaotic when it’s just a handful of random orders pushing price around in the dark.
Phase 1: Asia Session – The Danger Window
The first major phase is the Asian session. For 6Z, this is usually the worst liquidity of the entire day. South African markets are closed, European desks are mostly asleep, and U.S. players are done. That leaves a thin order book and almost no real institutional interest.
Typical Asia-session traits:
- Low volume: Very few contracts actually trade, so each order moves price more than it should.
- Choppy micro-structure: Price chops in tight, jagged patterns with no clean trend.
- Random spikes: One decent-sized order can blow through multiple price levels and then snap back.
Can you scalp during Asia? Sure. Should a new trader be doing that in 6Z? Probably not. The combination of $10 per tick plus thin liquidity is a good way to watch a “small” move turn into a real loss quickly.
Phase 2: London / South Africa – The Core 6Z Session
This is where 6Z futures actually behave like a tradeable market. South Africa’s cash market is open, European desks are online, and there’s real two-sided flow. If you want to build a serious playbook for 6Z, this is where you start.
What tends to happen in this window:
- Higher volume: More contracts transacting at every price.
- Better depth: The order book is thicker, so every market order doesn’t cause a 3–5 tick jump.
- Cleaner trends: Moves tend to develop and extend instead of whipsawing every two ticks.
This is the best time to run directional strategies like:
- Trend-following trades aligned with daily bias.
- Breakout plays from prior day’s range or key levels.
- Pullback entries into established moves.
If you’ve read What Are 6Z Futures? and Why 6Z Trades Differently From Majors, this window is where those realities line up with an actual edge.
Phase 3: U.S. Session – Data, Dollar, and Chaos
During the U.S. session, 6Z is driven more by the dollar side of the pair than by local South African flows. U.S. data releases, dollar index (DXY) moves, and risk sentiment all hit at once.
Key traits of the U.S. session:
- Volatility spikes around data: NFP, CPI, FOMC days can send 6Z flying in seconds.
- Dollar-driven moves: You’re mostly trading USD strength/weakness being expressed through the Rand.
- Directional bursts: When risk-on or risk-off sentiment kicks in, 6Z can trend hard intraday.
This is not the session to trade blind. If you don’t know what’s on the economic calendar, you deserve the spike that nails you. For a clean breakdown of how dollar strength drives this contract, see the upcoming article on U.S. dollar impact for 6Z.
Best Times to Trade 6Z Futures (Condensed)
If you want a simple filter, use this:
| Time Window | Quality | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Asia-only hours | Poor | Thin, spiky, best avoided by new traders |
| London + South Africa overlap | Best | Core liquidity and trend structure |
| London + U.S. overlap | Good but violent | Great moves, but watch news and slippage |
| Late U.S. afternoon near close | Weak | Liquidity fades, spreads widen |
Your job is to pair your strategy with the right window. Trend-following during London/South Africa, news-aware directional trading during U.S. data, and minimal gambling in the dead zones.
How Your Strategy Should Adapt by Session
During Thin Hours
In low-volume windows (Asia, late U.S.), the market is too easy to push around. That means:
- Stops get hunted because they’re visible in a shallow book.
- Market orders cause over-sized moves.
- Patterns mean less because one player can distort the chart.
If you insist on trading then, you need wider stops, smaller size, and far more patience. For most newer traders, the real “edge” is not playing.
During Core Liquidity
In the London/South Africa core window, 6Z finally trades like a grown-up market:
- Trend structure matters.
- Support/resistance levels actually react instead of instantly blowing out.
- Pullback entries are possible without getting wicked constantly.
This is where you build your 6Z playbook. Take whatever you learned in majors, adjust for the $10 tick size, and test your setups when the market is liquid—not when it’s barely alive.
News and Event Landmines
Even during the “good” windows, news can turn 6Z into a blender. You need to respect at least three categories of events:
- U.S. macro data: Jobs, inflation, GDP, and Fed-related releases.
- South African data and SARB policy: Rate decisions and statements can hit the Rand directly.
- Global risk shocks: Equity meltdowns, credit scares, geopolitical spikes.
On those days, either cut your size or switch from “normal trading” to “event mode.” You do not want to be sizing full risk in front of a major print in a contract that already moves aggressively.
When New Traders Should Stay Out
Here are the times when a newer 6Z trader should simply stand down:
- Right after the weekly open when spreads are still unstable.
- Minutes before and after high-impact news on the U.S. or South African side.
- Asia-only hours when the order book is obviously thin.
- The last hour before the daily pause, when volume falls off a cliff.
There’s no prize for “trading all day.” Your job is to trade the windows where you’re least likely to get cheated by liquidity conditions, not to grind your account for the sake of screen time.
The Bottom Line
The best times to trade 6Z futures are when real money is flowing: the London/South Africa window and the London/U.S. overlap, with full awareness of key data releases. Outside of those times, the combination of thin liquidity and $10-per-tick volatility turns 6Z into a landmine field. Get your timing right, and the contract becomes a clean, high-opportunity product. Get it wrong, and the same features that make it attractive will destroy you fast.