Guide
How to read EUR/USD order flow
EUR/USD order flow is the live record of who is buying and selling euros against dollars: the resting orders in the order book and the trades that hit them. Spot currencies trade over the counter between banks and brokers, with no single public order book, so on Swiftedge you watch it free and 24/7 on the EUR/USD perpetual future: the price of one euro in US dollars, with four decimals. The spot market closes from Friday 5:00 PM to Sunday 5:00 PM ET; the perpetual keeps trading.
What EUR/USD order flow shows
The EUR/USD order book heatmap shows resting buy and sell orders as bright bands (walls) around the price; the EUR/USD footprint chart splits every candle into the euros bought and sold at each price. Both are live in Swiftedge Depth for EUR/USD, with candlesticks, CVD and liquidations. Sizes are counted in euros, so a wall of one million euros is worth a little more than one million dollars at a rate above 1. The perpetual shows trading in this one contract, not the whole currency market, and its price can differ from a broker's quote, most of all at weekends.
The hours that matter
The currency market follows the business day around the world, from Sunday evening in New York to Friday evening:
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sunday 17:00 New York | The spot currency market opens for the week |
| 08:00 London | London opens, the largest currency center |
| 08:00–12:00 New York | London and New York both open, usually the busiest hours for EUR/USD |
| 08:30 New York | US data such as the jobs report and inflation |
| 14:15 Frankfurt on ECB days | ECB interest rate decisions |
| 14:00 New York on Fed days | US interest rate decisions |
| Friday 17:00 New York | The spot market closes for the weekend; only the perpetual trades |
These are the currency market's usual hours, not Swiftedge measurements: Swiftedge began recording the EUR/USD perpetual in November 2026. Today's times in your time zone are on EUR/USD trading sessions.
Pips and round numbers
A pip is 0.0001, the fourth decimal: a move from 1.1000 to 1.1025 is 25 pips. Traders watch the round numbers, the big figures (1.1000) and half figures (1.1050), where resting orders often gather. On the heatmap, check whether a wall at a round number is large compared with the rest of the book before reading it as support or resistance, and whether it stays when price comes close.
Data releases and central banks
In the seconds before a scheduled release, resting orders are often pulled and the book thins out, so the first move after the number can travel far on little volume. The footprint shows whether the move that follows is carried by aggressive orders or fades once the book refills. The economic calendar lists the next US releases and rate decisions, with how much they moved markets in the past.
The weekend
From Friday 17:00 to Sunday 17:00 New York time the spot market is closed and the perpetual trades on a thin book. Weekend moves are a read of the news with few participants, and the price can jump when the spot market reopens on Sunday evening.
A short checklist
- Know the hour: London, the London and New York overlap, New York, Asia or the weekend.
- Check the calendar for US data, ECB and Fed decisions.
- Mark the previous day's high and low and the round numbers near the price on EUR/USD levels today.
- Watch how walls near the price behave when they are hit: absorbed, eaten or pulled.
- Check the EUR/USD liquidation heatmap: high leverage puts forced orders close to the price.
Common questions
Is there a free EUR/USD order flow tool?
Yes: Swiftedge, with no sign-up. The EUR/USD heatmap in Depth, the EUR/USD footprint chart and EUR/USD levels today are live on the EUR/USD perpetual future, 24/7.
Is the EUR/USD perpetual the same as spot EUR/USD?
No. It follows the euro-dollar exchange rate, but it is a perpetual future with its own order book, not the spot market or CME Euro FX futures, and its price can differ from a broker's quote.
What is a pip in EUR/USD?
0.0001, the fourth decimal. A move from 1.1000 to 1.1025 is 25 pips.
Does EUR/USD trade at weekends?
The perpetual does, 24/7, on a thin book. The spot currency market is closed from Friday 5:00 PM to Sunday 5:00 PM ET.