Time zone and international trade

• Contents

It is important to pay attention to the time zone of your customers and suppliers to avoid wasting time and business!

Globalization has significantly brought markets closer, and the internet facilitates communication and trading between different countries.

When trading in the international market, it is always necessary to be aware of several factors that may not seem to have a direct impact, but often require an adaptation in internal operations. In this sense, one of the most important and common variables is time.

Occasionally, different time zones between countries can seem to entrepreneurs to be a big impediment to closing international sales, however, there are tips to deal with the time factor in the best way possible.

TIPS FOR TRADING WITH DIFFERENT TIME ZONES

Firstly, if your objective is to arrange a video call or make a call with a foreign buyer, the initial step is to research the time zone between you and see if it coincides with your business hours, as some countries are not used to working after the stipulated six or eight hours.

The ideal is to know this information to be able to agree on a time in the best way, which will depend a lot on both your willingness and your client's interest in closing a deal. Therefore, staying flexible as much as possible is the best way, as it is very important that you demonstrate your commitment to the negotiation with the buyer.

TRADING ON THE EXCHANGE MARKET

It is essential to know the opening hours to define those that best fit your trading strategy. In this sense, if you are interested in trading in high volatility scenarios, it is best to choose times when the financial market of a certain connected country is open. On the other hand, if your objective is to trade in small movements, the ideal is to choose fewer active hours.

Each of the main financial centers (Tokyo, London, New York, and Sydney) are open for 9 hours, however, as they do not open at the same time all over the world, these exchange markets remain open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Based on the 00GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) time zone, the main hub times are:

• Tokyo: 11pm to 7am;

• London: 7am to 3pm;

• New York: 12pm to 8pm;

• Sydney: 9pm to 5am.

Even so, recently the markets are rethinking their operating periods. China, for example, has plans to gradually extend the trading hours of its main bond market to bring in more international investors, making them easier to access.

Certainly, time is essential to build negotiation strategies within any international market. And your organization will be paramount. Researching and knowing how it works in each place is of vital importance. Despite this, the internet came as a huge facilitator for communication between exporters and importers, after all, nowadays several messages can be exchanged from different parts of the world at any time.

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