ICT kill zones in Nigerian time (WAT)
ICT kill zones are defined in New York time, which makes them confusing to follow from Lagos or Abuja: New York changes its clocks twice a year and Nigeria never does. Here they are in West Africa Time (WAT, UTC+1).
Kill zones in WAT
“Summer” is when New York is on daylight saving time (second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November); “winter” is the rest of the year.
| Kill zone | New York time | WAT, summer | WAT, winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 8:00 pm – 12:00 am | 1:00 am – 5:00 am | 2:00 am – 6:00 am |
| London open | 2:00 am – 5:00 am | 7:00 am – 10:00 am | 8:00 am – 11:00 am |
| New York open | 7:00 am – 10:00 am | 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm | 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm |
| London close | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm | 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm |
Teachers and indicators differ by an hour here and there (some use 8:30–11:00 am New York for the New York kill zone, for example). Pick one definition, write it down and keep it for your whole backtest.
Silver Bullet windows in WAT
| Window | New York time | WAT, summer | WAT, winter |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 3:00 am – 4:00 am | 8:00 am – 9:00 am | 9:00 am – 10:00 am |
| New York AM | 10:00 am – 11:00 am | 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm |
| New York PM | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm | 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm | 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm |
Watch the switch weeks. The US changes its clocks two to three weeks before the UK in March and one week after it in late October/November. In those weeks the London times in New York terms move by an hour, so check which clock your teacher’s rule follows.
Why this suits Nigerian traders
The London and New York kill zones fall between morning and late afternoon in Nigeria, during or just after the working day. You don’t need to stay up at night to trade the busiest hours.
Practise one kill zone at a time
The fastest way to learn a kill zone is repetition: start a PlayBack a little before it opens on a past day, trade it, then jump to the next day. Twenty London opens in a weekend teach you how the session usually behaves. The step-by-step method is in how to backtest ICT and SMC setups, and all four forex sessions are in forex session times in Nigeria.
Try it on real history
Open PlayBack Forex in your browser, pick a pair and a start candle, and trade the chart as it unfolds. Free to start.