HERE IS A LIST OF FOREX BROKERS THAT OFFER WEEKEND TRADING
Best Weekend Trading Brokers
Financial markets are usually only open during weekdays and closed over the weekend when banks and institutional brokers are not in business. However, the most hardcore traders are always looking to invest their money at all times. As such, weekend trading has become increasingly popular among traders. Some forex brokers have understood the need to provide traders with brokerage services even during the weekend. They give investors the flexibility to trade forex, stocks, cryptocurrencies, forex, and more during the weekend. However, not all brokers offer weekend trading services and finding the right one can be challenging. In this guide, we are going to be taking a look at some of the best weekend trading brokers for South African and international traders.
Our Criteria For Selecting The Best Weekend Trading Brokers
It is good to understand the specific features we are looking at to make our selection for the best weekend trading brokers. Below are the different characteristics we will look at.
- Trading Hours - The first thing we have to consider is whether the broker allows traders to trade during the weekend. We will consider the hours during which markets are open for trading.
- Availability of Trading Assets - We will also look at the assets that are available to invest in during weekend hours.
- Spreads Offered - As the spreads are usually the main fees that traders pay when trading, we will check to ensure that the brokers we feature have fairly low spreads.
- Trading Platforms - We will consider whether the brokers we feature have market-standard trading platforms for traders to use.
- Regulations - The regulatory status of a broker is crucial to look at. Brokers that have regulations from tier-one organizations ensure that brokers follow strict financial laws for a fair trading environment.
Now that we know the criteria, let’s take a look at some of the best weekend trading brokers that made our cut.
Exness
Exness is one of the brokers that offers traders the opportunity to trade financial markets during weekend hours. For starters, South African traders can trade cryptocurrencies throughout the weekend on the Exness trading site. Additionally, there are some other assets that are available to trade for a short time during the weekend.
On Exness, forex trading is open from Sunday 22:05 to Friday 21:59 GMT. This means that traders have access to forex trading for some time on Sunday. Further, commodity trading on Exness starts as early as Sunday at 23:05 GMT. Finally, indices trading opens on Sundays at 22:05.
Evidently, traders can take advantage of weekend trading on Exness even though some assets are only available for a short time on weekends. The trading platforms available to use include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, Exness Terminal, and Exness Trade App. These are industry-standard platforms suitable for all kinds of traders.
Further, Exness has competitively low spreads that start from 0.3 pips for major currency pairs on its two standard accounts. The spreads go even lower on the professional accounts starting from 0.0 pips on the Raw Spread and the Zero accounts. However, there is a commission involved that sits at $3.4 per side per lot on the Raw Spread account and $0.2 per side per lot and upwards on the Zero account. The Pro account simply features ultra-low spreads starting from 0.1 pips with no commission required.
On regulations, Exness is under the watchful eye of the FSCA in South Africa and the CMA in Kenya. Additionally, it operates under the regulation of the FCA in the UK and the FSC in Mauritius, among others.
Forex.com
Forex.com is another reputable broker that allows South African traders to trade some assets during weekend hours. For starters, traders can trade CFDs on five different cryptocurrencies over the weekend. The crypto assets available to trade on the Forex.com platform include Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, and Ethereum.
Further, there are other assets that are available to trade for a few hours on Sunday. The forex market is available to trade on Forex.com from 9.00 PM GMT on Sundays. While forex currency pairs are available only for an hour on Sunday, it is still an opportunity for traders to start investing early and stay ahead of other traders. The trading platforms available for traders to use include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, and Forex.com Trader. These give traders some of the fastest order execution times in the market.
Further, the broker offers relatively low fees when trading. The spreads start from as low as 0.8 pips for major currency pairs on the Standard account and 1.0 pips on the MetaTrader accounts. They are lower on the Raw Spread account starting from 0.0 pips with a commission of $5 per $100k traded.
On regulations, Forex.com holds regulatory licenses from several organizations. These include the FCA in the UK, the ASIC in Australia, the CIRO in Canada, and the NFA in the US, among others. While not under the FSCA’s regulation, this broker’s activities are under the supervision of some of the most reputable regulators.
XM.com
XM operates under the regulation of the FSC in Belize, the FCA in the UK, and the ASIC in Australia, among other regulators. In South Africa, this broker allows traders to access one major asset class on weekends. A total of 58 different cryptocurrency pairs are available to trade on weekends with spreads that are competitively low. As an example, the BTCUSD pair on XM has a spread as low as 53 pips.
XM provides South African traders with three main trading platforms to use while trading. These include MT4, MT5, and the XM Trading App. These platforms have intuitive interfaces and come with a variety of trading tools. Finally, on regulations, this broker’s activities are under the examination of the FSC in Belize, the FCA in the UK, and the ASIC in Australia.
XTB
XTB allows South African traders to continue investing over the weekend by trading 10+ different crypto CFDs. The spreads for trading crypto on this broker site are somewhat low with the BTCUSD pair having a spread of 105. Interestingly, the only trading platform available to use on XTB is the in-house-built xStation 5.
Luckily for South African traders, XTB is locally regulated by the FSCA. On top of that, the broker is regulated by other organisations including the ASIC in Australia and the CySEC in Cyprus. Regulations alone are never enough. However, this broker has been in the market for a long time with a record of providing quality services.
IG
With IG, South African traders can trade a select few currency pairs over the weekend. There are three main forex currency pairs that traders have access to over the weekend. These include GBPUSD, USDJPY, and EURUSD. Weekend trading for these three currency pairs opens on Saturdays at 3.00 PM and closes on Mondays at 3.40 AM (UK Time). The tickers for these currency pairs will have the name Weekend preceding them to distinguish them from their weekday counterparts. This way, traders can continue to speculate on the movements of these currency pairs without having to alter existing weekday positions.
Further, traders can trade indices over the weekend on the IG trading site. The Weekend versions of indices are available to trade from Saturdays at 4.00 AM to Sundays at 10.40 PM (UK Time). Just like we have seen in forex, the weekend indices have the name Weekend preceding the ticker of the index. Further, traders can continue to invest in cryptocurrencies that are available 24/7. Specifically, traders have access to CFDs on 11 major cryptocurrencies, two crypto crosses and a crypto index.
On regulations, IG holds licenses from various organisations around the world. In South Africa, the broker is under the regulation of the FSCA. It is also under the regulation of the FCA in the UK, the ASIC in Australia, and the BaFin in Germany, among others.
AvaTrade
AvaTrade is another broker we can place on the best weekend trading brokers for South Africans. While most financial markets close during the weekend, the cryptocurrency market remains open on the AvaTrade broker site. There are 15 different crypto assets that are available to trade against several fiat currencies. Some of the top cryptocurrencies to trade on this broker site include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, and EOS, among others. The trading platforms available to use while trading include MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and AvaTradeGO.
In South Africa, AvaTrade operates under the regulation of the FSCA which helps its reputation in the country. Moreover, the broker has regulations in other jurisdictions including in Ireland by the Central Bank of Ireland and in Poland by the KNF.
Advantages of Weekend Trading Brokers
The availability of weekend trading brokers provides South African traders with opportunities to continue investing even when banks and institutional brokers are closed. Traders can confidently engage with reputable brokers like Exness, Forex.com, XM, XTB and IG. Weekend trading offers benefits such as continued market access, flexibility, and reduced volatility. This empowers traders to pursue their investment goals with convenience and adaptability.
While the brokers we listed here are solid choices for South African traders, there are others that exist but did not make our list. Since our opinion is not universal, we urge every trader to carefully evaluate a broker before deciding to invest their hard-earned cash.