ICT True Day (Interbank 24-Hour Trading Day)
Also: True Day, IPDA True Day, Interbank Day, ICT True Day Definition
The interbank 24-hour trading cycle as defined by ICT for day trading purposes. The true day opens at 12:00 AM (midnight) New York time and closes at 3:00 PM New York time. This 15-hour window is the reference frame within which IPDA (the interbank price delivery algorithm) defines the open, high, low, and close of the daily candle. The 3:00 PM close is used because the bond market closes at that time, ending the influence that interest rates have on the currency markets. Any FOMC-related moves resolve by 3:00 PM. All ICT killzone times and session references are anchored to New York time, regardless of daylight savings.
Identification4
- [object Object]
- [object Object]
- All session subdivisions (Asian, London Kill Zone, New York Kill Zone, London Close Kill Zone) are nested within the true day
- The retail MT4 platform day separator does NOT correspond to the true day — it must be ignored
Invalidation1
- N/A — this is a definitional/reference concept, not a trade pattern
Inferred Conditions (Unvalidated)
- Using the retail platform's day separator (which does not align with interbank timing) is a reliable signal a trader does not understand institutional time reference
- The 2:00–3:00 PM NY window captures any FOMC or interest rate announcement moves that come out at 2:00 PM NY time
- "New York close" in ICT's terminology refers to the true day close at 3:00 PM, not the traditional Forex 5:00 PM NY close
ICT Quotes
"The retail version of the 24 hour trading day is not what we focus on... The interbank 24 hour, trading day is very different. So if it's going to be a high probability trade scenario that we're gonna be looking for, it stands to reason we have to start with the same reference point that IPDA itself, the interbank price delivery algorithm, uses in referencing time."
"Every day at 12am, midnight, New York time begins the IPDA true day. This is the beginning of the 24 hour interbank trading day. Every day at 3pm, New York time ends the IPDA true day 24 hour interbank trading day."
"3pm Is because bonds close and the influence that interest rates have on the currency markets will have ended by them. The last hour two o'clock to 3pm New York time will always encapsulate any movement that's related to FOMC to interest rate announcements."
Timeframes
Version History2 versions
74-ICT Mentorship Core Content - Month 8 - Defining The Daily Range.srt
""Every day at 12am, midnight, New York time begins the IPDA true day. This is the beginning of the 24 hour interbank trading day. Every day at 3pm, New York time ends the IPDA true day 24 hour interba…"
Definitive mentorship statement of true-day boundaries, superseding earlier free-tutorial references to different times
ICT YT - 2024-09-13 - ICT 2024 Mentorship - Lecture 27.srt
"every single hour there is a macro, but the 11 o'clock one isn't going to perform the same way. But the 1150, to 1210, macro, that's fucking dynamite. That is wonderful, because what you're doing is y…"
Live-session restatement confirms true day = midnight New York. The 11:50 AM– 12:10 PM macro is identified as "the beginning of true day" in context — likely meaning it straddles the midday transition point within the true day cycle. No change to the 2017 canonical definition.
Notes
ICT explicitly states this is the "definitive teaching" on time-of-day references and that any prior conflicting times from free tutorials are superseded by this lesson. The 15-hour true day (midnight to 3 PM NY) is shorter than a conventional calendar day, meaning the Asian range, London Kill Zone, and New York Kill Zone all fall within this window. The zero GMT candle open (approximately 7:00 PM–8:00 PM ET depending on season) is a separate reference used for the daily open in HTF trade integration (see power-three and integrating-daytrades concepts). 2024 confirmation (L27, Sep 13): ICT confirms the midnight New York definition in a live session: "True day is midnight, New York level." Also notes the 11:50 AM–12:10 PM macro as "the beginning of true day" — meaning that the noon macro straddles the moment when the previous true day's afternoon session ends and the new Asian session (beginning of the next true day's first session) begins. This is consistent with the 2017 definition: true day opens at midnight, so noon is approximately the midpoint of the true day. The 11:50–12:10 PM macro is characterized as "dynamite" in context of the 2:50–3:10 PM macro.