Why Your 4hr Charts Look Different to Mine

Posted on

Over the last three weeks I have been asked ‘why do your 4hr charts look different to mine?’ over twenty times. In this post I am going to explain why 4hr charts can look different from broker to broker.

Forex Broker Server Time

A Forex brokers server time is different to a brokers platform display time. Forex trading platforms allow you to change the displayed time to your local time. Changing the display time will not make any changes to your candle formations.

Forex Chart Display Time

All Forex brokers require servers to run, store information, and draw charts. A brokers server time determines the open/close time of their 4hr candles. The first 4hr candle for the day always opens at 00:00. With my broker, GFT Forex, the new 4hr candle opens at 00:00 GMT+0. With other brokers 4hr candles can open at any time, two of the most common times after GMT+0 are GMT+1 and GMT-5.

If my broker starts the day at 00:00 GMT+0 and yours one hour later at 00:00 GMT+1 our charts will end up looking very different.

The Best Server Time

I am often asked what server time is the best. The short answer is that there is no best time. However, my guess is that most of the worlds traders are using GMT+0. Most of the volume in Forex occurs in the London session and most UK based traders using UK based brokers are using GMT+0 charts. Also, UTC/GMT is the official standard for world time so I can only assume most traders are looking at GMT+0 charts.

When looking at your charts it is important that you see what the majority of people see. Trading any market is a self fulfilling prophecy. I use Support and Resistance lines to trade, these lines have no inherent magical voodoo attached to them that causes price to bounce from them. Price bounces from Support and Resistance because thousands of traders expect it to so they place orders at these levels. This is the same for candle formations, trend lines and even indicators. So, when I look at a chart I want to know that the majority of traders in the world are looking at the same chart. I choose charts formatted in GMT+0 because I believe that most traders in the world, especially the big boys, are using GMT+0 charts.

How Important is This?

If you do not trade 4hr charts or daily charts you will likely not notice any difference. This is only a problem for 4hr charts and above.

If you follow my Forex Trading Strategy you should probably be using GMT+0 based charts. However, Price Action is just as visible on GMT+0 as it is on GMT-5. While I think that anything other than GMT+0 charts are a liability I still think you can trade profitably using them.

Forex GMT+0 Based Brokers

*Note – This list is purely informational, I do not vouch for any of the brokers listed here except for GFT Forex which I use personally.
– GFT Forex
– Dukascopy
– InterbankFx

If you wish to help contribute to this list please leave a comment below and I will add the broker.