Thursday, March 13, 2008

Forex Trading Guide: What are the World Time Zones?

GMT, EST, PST, and CET

GMT (also known as UTC or Coordinated Universal Time) is the time along the Prime Meridian (0 degree longitude) which passes through Greenwich, England. It is the standard time used in the field of astronomy, meteorology and other scientific disciplines around the world, and the standard used to reference market data from all countries around the world participating in the world market.

EST or Eastern Standard Time is five(5) hours late of GMT, while PST or Pacific Standard Time is late by eight(8) hours. Hence, if a market data will be coming out in EST, just add five(5) hours to get the time in GMT. To convert PST to GMT, just add eight(8) hours.

CET or Central European Time is one(1) hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Note that during summer daylight saving time/summer time is observed, and CEST (Central European Summer Time) is used instead (GMT + 2 Hours).

Daylight Saving Time (DST)

From the last Sunday in October through the last Saturday in March standard time in the United States of America and other European countries is noted as Central Standard Time (CST), (EST), (MST) or (PST). During summer, that is, from the last Sunday in March through the Last Saturday in October, daylight savings time is noted as Central Daylight Time (CDT), (EDT), (MDT) or (PDT) which is one hour added to standard time. So to convert EDT to GMT, just add four(4) hours. Below is a summary of the conversions, this time converting GMT to EST or PST.

Eastern Standard Time (EST) GMT - 5 hours = EST
Central Standard Time (CST) GMT - 6 hours = CST
Pacific Standard Time (PST) GMT - 8 hours = PST
Central European Time (CET) GMT + 1 hour = CET
Daylight Savings Time (DST)
Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) GMT - 4 hours = EDT
Central Daylight Time (CDT) GMT - 5 hours = CDT
Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) GMT - 7 hours = PDT
Central European Summer Time (CEST) GMT + 2 hours = CEST

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