What Time Does the COMEX Exchange Open? A Complete Guide to COMEX Market Hours

If you trade gold, silver, or copper futures, you already know the frustration: the market seems to be open almost all the time, yet the moments that actually matter are surprisingly narrow. Unlike the stock market, which has a clean 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM window, COMEX operates on a schedule that confuses even experienced traders. The exchange technically runs nearly 24 hours a day, but the real action—the period when liquidity surges and prices actually move—occupies only a fraction of that time.

Understanding when COMEX opens, when it closes, and when it truly becomes active is not just trivia. It directly affects how you time your entries, manage your positions, and decide whether you need to stay glued to your screen or can step away.

COMEX Market Hours: The Basics You Need to Know

The Commodity Exchange (COMEX), a division of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group, handles futures and options for metals including gold, silver, copper, and aluminum. The exchange operates through the CME Globex electronic trading platform, which provides the near-continuous access that most traders rely on today.

Here is the standard COMEX market schedule in Eastern Time (ET):

Electronic Trading (Globex): Sunday through Friday, 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET the following day, with a daily maintenance break from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

This means the COMEX market open time for the trading week is Sunday at 6:00 PM ET. From that point forward, the exchange remains open for nearly 23 hours each day, closing for just one hour before reopening for the next session. The week officially ends on Friday at 5:00 PM ET.

Floor Trading (Legacy): The traditional open-outcry session, which has largely been superseded by electronic trading, runs from 8:20 AM to 1:30 PM ET. Most retail traders today interact exclusively with the electronic session.

The COMEX Market Closing Time Today and the Daily Reset

A common source of confusion is the daily break. When someone asks about the COMEX market closing time today, the answer depends on which session they mean. The exchange closes for the day at 5:00 PM ET every Monday through Thursday, then reopens at 6:00 PM ET for the next trading day. On Friday, the market closes at 5:00 PM ET and remains closed until Sunday evening.

That one-hour pause is not just administrative downtime. It is a maintenance window during which orders cannot execute, and liquidity conditions immediately before and after the break can differ significantly from the more active periods. Traders who hold positions overnight should be aware that the reopening at 6:00 PM ET can bring gaps or sharp moves, particularly if news has emerged during the break.

When Does COMEX Actually Get Active? The Real Trading Windows

Knowing when the exchange opens is different from knowing when it matters. COMEX may be accessible for 23 hours a day, but the volume and volatility are far from uniform.

The most active period for COMEX metals futures aligns with the U.S. equity market session. The peak trading window runs from approximately 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM ET. During this overlap, major economic data releases, Federal Reserve communications, and institutional order flow create the liquidity that supports tight spreads and meaningful price discovery.

For Indian traders asking about the COMEX market open time in India, the conversion is worth noting. During U.S. daylight saving time, the active COMEX session corresponds roughly to 6:30 PM to 12:00 AM IST. When the U.S. returns to standard time, that window shifts to approximately 7:30 PM to 1:00 AM IST.

The early Asian hours—when COMEX is technically open but U.S. participants are absent—often produce thin, range-bound conditions. Experienced traders recognize these periods as less suitable for aggressive strategies, but they can offer opportunities for position adjustment without the noise of a fully active market.

Why Timing Matters More Than You Think

The practical implications of COMEX market hours go beyond knowing when to place a trade. Consider the rhythm of a typical metals trader’s day:

The overnight session, spanning from the 6:00 PM ET open through the Asian morning, is where global macro developments first get priced in. A central bank announcement in Asia or a geopolitical event can move gold before U.S. traders even wake up. Being able to monitor these moves—even passively—can inform how you approach the more liquid U.S. session.

The U.S. session, particularly the first hour after the 9:00 AM ET equity open, brings the heaviest volume. This is when gold and silver respond most sharply to economic data, Treasury yields, and dollar movements. For anyone trading COMEX futures, this is the window where execution quality is best and the risk of slippage is lowest.

The final hours before the 5:00 PM ET close can be deceptive. Liquidity thins as U.S. participants reduce exposure ahead of the maintenance break. For traders holding positions, this period demands attention: a position that looks comfortable at 3:00 PM ET may face different conditions by 5:00 PM.

The Screen-Time Problem Every COMEX Trader Faces

Here is the uncomfortable truth about COMEX market hours: the exchange is open for nearly 23 hours a day, but no reasonable person can watch it for that long.

The most active window—the U.S. session—falls during work hours for traders in Asia, late evening for those in Europe, and the middle of the night for anyone in Australia. Even for U.S.-based traders, the combination of a demanding day job and an evening session that extends until 5:00 PM (or later, depending on your time zone) creates a real logistical challenge.

The result is a familiar compromise: traders either miss the moves they wanted to catch, or they sacrifice sleep and attention to stay glued to a screen during hours that may not even produce meaningful activity.

A Practical Solution for Monitoring COMEX Without the Screen

This is where a tool like Camovia Tray fits naturally into a COMEX trader’s workflow. The product turns MetaTrader 5 or MetaTrader 4 into a system tray utility, letting you check live quotes and manage positions without keeping the full terminal window open and front-and-center.

For COMEX trading specifically, the utility solves a problem that arises directly from the exchange’s schedule. Because COMEX is accessible during extended hours but only active during specific windows, traders often need to stay aware of price movements even when they are not actively trading. With Camovia Tray, hovering over the system tray icon reveals current quotes for your watchlist—gold, silver, or any other instrument—without requiring you to open MetaTrader or disrupt whatever else you are doing.

More importantly, it allows position management at a glance. When you are holding a COMEX futures position through a low-liquidity period, the ability to quickly check profit and loss—and close a position with a two-step confirmation—means you can respond to unexpected moves without the friction of launching a full trading terminal. The data stays local on your computer, which aligns with the security expectations of anyone managing real capital.

It is not a replacement for proper risk management or a well-considered trading plan. But for the specific challenge of staying informed about COMEX market activity without surrendering your entire attention to a chart window, it addresses a genuine need.

COMEX Market Hours: Quick Reference Summary

Weekly Open: Sunday 6:00 PM ET (electronic session begins)

Daily Schedule: 6:00 PM ET to 5:00 PM ET the following day, Sunday through Friday

Daily Break: 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET

Weekly Close: Friday 5:00 PM ET

Most Active Window: Approximately 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM ET

Corresponding Active Window in IST: Roughly 6:30 PM to 12:00 AM (U.S. daylight time) or 7:30 PM to 1:00 AM (U.S. standard time)

Floor Session (Legacy): 8:20 AM to 1:30 PM ET

Whether you are trading gold futures from New York, silver from Mumbai, or copper from London, the COMEX market hours define the rhythm of your trading day. Knowing when the market opens is the starting point; knowing when it comes alive is what separates informed trading from guessing.