In scalping traders usually trade on lowest time frames. Most often it will be 1m TF. Of course, you can find systems which are created for other time frames like 5m or 15m. What is best time frame?

If you trade on timeframes like 15m or higher then it is hard to be all the time in front of a screen.

Time frames for scalping

The most popular is forex scalping on the 1-minute chart during London and NY sessions. On 1m TF you can scalp for few hours and finish your trading. It is hard to do the same on higher TFs.

Time frames for day trading

You do not have to trade on 1m. Many day traders use 5m or other time frames larger than 1m. It depends on strategy, but in many cases, you will get a much clearer picture and better signals.

Time frames in Metatrader 5

If you want to trade on less typical time frame like 2m, 3m or other then you should check Metatrader 5. For example, XM broker gives you a possibility to open an account for Metatrader 4 or Metatrader 5. If you choose MT5 then you will have a wide selection of time frames. To be precise, you can choose from time frames like:

  • 1 min.
  • 2 min.
  • 3 min.
  • 4 min.
  • 5 min.
  • 6 min.
  • 10 min.
  • 12 min.
  • 15 min.
  • 20 min.
  • 30 min.
  • 1 hour
  • 2 hours
  • 4 hours
  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly

timeframes

Time frames lower than 1m

If you want to scalp on time frames less than a minute than you can check Oanda – they have TFs like 5s, 15s or 30s. These TFs are available in their custom software, they are not available in MT4.

Remember that on such a low periods you will see mostly noise. They are very hard to trade, even with help of EA.

If you still want to trade on charts lower than 1m then you can also look for a broker with tick chart.

Still, in most cases, you will be good to go with 1m, 5m, and other standard time frames. I do not think that exotic time frames like 2m or 15s will give you a big advantage over the rest.

Day trading and scalping guide - menu:

Basic info about day trading:

Management in day trading:

Indicators in day trading

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