ICT Asian Range: The Complete Guide

Every day, before London opens at 2:00 AM ET, a range has already been built. Forex traders in Tokyo, Sydney, and Singapore have been active since 8:00 PM ET, pushing EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and the major pairs within a relatively tight overnight range. The high of that range is loaded with buy stops from short sellers who entered during the Asian session and placed protective stops above the overnight high. The low is loaded with sell stops in the opposite direction.

These two levels — the Asian Range High and the Asian Range Low — are the primary targets for the London open Judas Swing. The moment London opens at 2:00 AM ET, the algorithm has a clear plan: sweep one side of the overnight range, collect the stop orders, and then reverse to deliver the day's primary direction. The Asian range is not just a reference level. It is the accumulation phase of the daily AMD cycle laid out on the chart from the night before.

What the ICT Asian Range Is

The ICT Asian Range is the highest high and lowest low formed during the Asian trading session — specifically between 8:00 PM and 12:00 AM ET (New York time). These two levels are:

ARH — Asian Range High: The highest price reached during the 8 PM–midnight ET window. Buy stops cluster above this level from Asian session traders who entered short positions and placed protective stops above the session high. This is the BSL pool that London's bearish Judas targets on a bearish day.

ARL — Asian Range Low: The lowest price reached during the 8 PM–midnight ET window. Sell stops cluster below this level from traders who went long during the Asian session and placed protective stops below the session low. This is the SSL pool that London's bullish Judas targets on a bullish day.

Asian Range EQ: (ARH + ARL) / 2. The midpoint of the Asian range. On a bearish day, current price above the Asian EQ before the London open confirms the daily bias. Below the EQ favours a bullish day. The EQ is the dividing line between which level London will target first — price above EQ means London is more likely to sweep the ARH (bearish Judas), price below EQ means the ARL is the Judas target.

The Asian Range is marked at midnight ET — the close of the Asian window — and left on the chart for the entire trading day. The ARH and ARL remain as active reference levels through London and into the NY session.

Asian Range Hours — With DST Rules

Like all ICT time references, Asian Range hours are quoted in New York time (ET) and shift seasonally with daylight saving time.

US Daylight Saving Time (second Sunday in March – first Sunday in November):
Asian Range window: 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM ET = 00:00 – 04:00 UTC

US Standard Time (winter):
Asian Range window: 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM ET = 01:00 – 05:00 UTC

The practical approach: set a secondary chart clock to New York time and mark the 8 PM candle as the start of the Asian window. At midnight ET, note the high and low of those four hours. That is the Asian Range. Leave the ARH and ARL on the chart for the rest of the day.

One important clarification for NQ traders: NQ's primary price action occurs during US hours, and the "overnight session" for NQ (8 PM–2 AM ET) is thin with low volume. The Asian Range concept applies most powerfully to forex pairs — EUR/USD, GBP/USD, GBP/JPY, AUD/USD — where the Asian session genuinely drives meaningful range-building activity. For NQ and ES, the equivalent reference level is the overnight session high and low, but the institutional significance is lower than the same concept in forex because US index futures are primarily driven by US-hours activity.

Asian Range as London Judas Target — The Core Mechanism

The Asian Range's primary function in daily trading is as the pre-identified target for the London Judas Swing. In the AMD daily cycle, the Asian session is the accumulation phase (price consolidates in a range). The London open is the manipulation phase (the Judas Swing sweeps one extreme). The NY session is the distribution phase (price delivers in the true direction).

This means: at 2:00 AM ET, when London opens, the algorithm has two targets already marked on the chart. The ARH is the BSL target for a bearish Judas. The ARL is the SSL target for a bullish Judas. Identifying which one London will sweep is the same process as determining the daily bias — if the daily and weekly context is bearish, the ARH sweep is the expected Judas. If bullish, the ARL sweep.

The sequence every London session on a bearish day:

1. Mark ARH and ARL at midnight ET. Note the Asian EQ.
2. At 2:00 AM ET London open: if daily bias is bearish, watch for a push above the ARH — the BSL sweep.
3. The sweep candle extends above the ARH with a wick, body closes back below — confirming the Judas.
4. The MSS fires on the 5M chart. The 1st Presented FVG forms.
5. Entry at FVG 50% CE. T1 at ARL (the SSL the opposite side of the Asian range — the London session's primary IRL). T2 at the daily ERL beyond.

The ARH that is swept becomes the rejected level. The ARL that is not swept becomes the T1. This mirror logic — Judas sweeps one side, T1 is the other side — applies on every directional day. The Asian Range is the structure that makes this target visible before London even opens.

Asian Range Width — London Volatility Signal

The width of the Asian Range predicts London session volatility using the same logic as CBDR width predicts NY volatility. A wider Asian range means more active Asian participation, denser stop clusters at the ARH and ARL, and higher institutional motivation to sweep those levels at the London open. A narrow Asian range means thin participation, smaller stop clusters, and a London session that may lack the clear AMD structure needed for high-probability ICT setups.

The width signal has the same news-day exception as the CBDR: on days with high-impact data releases (NFP, CPI, central bank decisions), the Asian Range width is not a reliable volatility predictor because institutional desks hold positions waiting for the announcement. A narrow Asian Range on an NFP day does not mean low volatility — it means institutional participants chose not to commit during the Asian session, and the news release itself will produce the day's move regardless of range width.

Asian Range vs CBDR — Two Parallel Structures

The Asian Range and the CBDR serve identical structural roles for their respective sessions. Understanding the parallel helps cement both concepts simultaneously.

The parallel is exact. Every rule that applies to the CBDR for NY trading applies to the Asian Range for London trading, transposed by six hours. If you already trade the NY session using the CBDR, applying the Asian Range to the London session requires no new logic — only the hours change and the instruments shift toward forex.

Asian Range and NWOG — Sunday's Pre-London Reference

On Monday mornings, the Asian Range and the NWOG (New Week Opening Gap) can both be active simultaneously. Both represent reference levels formed before London opens — the NWOG from the Friday-to-Sunday gap, and the Asian Range from Sunday evening's accumulation. When both are present, they are related but distinct:

The NWOG defines where price gapped from Friday's close to Sunday's open — a weekly-scale imbalance. The Asian Range defines Monday's overnight accumulation after the gap has partially resolved — a daily-scale reference. In practice, the Monday morning Asian Range often forms near the NWOG boundaries. When the Asian Range High sits near the NWOG's 50% CE, the two levels stack — the ARH and the NWOG CE are at the same price, creating a double liquidity target for the Monday London Judas. The confluence of a NWOG level and an Asian Range extreme is one of the highest-priority London session targets of the week.

Full Walkthrough — London Session Using Asian Range (EUR/USD)

Midnight ET — Asian Range marked: EUR/USD Asian Range: High 1.08620, Low 1.08350. Width: 27 pips — normal, standard size. Asian EQ: 1.08485. Current price: 1.08512 — above Asian EQ. Daily bias: bearish (EUR/USD in weekly premium). Plan: expect London Judas sweep above 1.08620 (ARH/BSL). T1 target: ARL at 1.08350 (27 pips below current price, 37 pips below ARH sweep level). T2: equal lows at 1.08050.

2:00 AM ET — London opens: EUR/USD pushes to 1.08658 — 4 pips above ARH. BSL swept. Body of the 5M sweep candle closes at 1.08594 — back below the ARH. Sweep confirmed.

2:12 AM ET — MSS: 5M swing low at 1.08572 (formed at 2:05 AM) broken. Bearish MSS confirmed. 1st Presented FVG: 1.08594–1.08638. 50% CE: 1.08616.

2:33 AM macro — Entry fills: Retrace to 1.08618 during the 2:33 AM London macro window. Short fills at 1.08616. Stop: above sweep wick at 1.08658 — buffer to 1.08668. Distance: 52 pips.

T1 (ARL): 1.08350 — 27 pips, 0.5R. Hit 3:44 AM. Close 50%, stop to BE.

T2 (ERL): Equal lows 1.08050 — 57 pips on 50% runner, 1.1R. Hit 9:22 AM (NY open distribution).

Common Asian Range Mistakes

Using the wrong window — "Asian session" is not the same as the ICT Asian Range. The Asian trading session broadly spans 7:00 PM to 4:00 AM ET (Tokyo to Sydney overlap). ICT's Asian Range specifically uses 8:00 PM to 12:00 AM ET. The difference matters: the 12:00 AM–2:00 AM window (post-midnight, pre-London) is excluded from the range because it represents early London positioning rather than pure Asian accumulation. Using the full 7 PM–2 AM range inflates the ARH and ARL, reducing the precision of the stop cluster levels the Judas is targeting.

Applying the Asian Range to NQ with the same weight as forex. NQ's overnight session is thin and driven by news events and pre-market futures activity rather than genuine Asian institutional participation. The ARH and ARL on NQ are less reliable Judas targets than the same levels on EUR/USD. For NQ, the CBDR (2–7 AM ET) and the pre-market range (7–9:30 AM ET) are the more reliable reference levels for the NY session's Judas targets. The Asian Range is a forex and gold concept primarily; treat NQ overnight highs and lows as informational rather than structural.

Expecting the Judas to sweep the ARH or ARL every day. On continuation days — where the algorithm is delivering strongly in one direction without a meaningful reversal — the Judas may be minimal or absent. On these days, London may open and immediately deliver in the primary direction without a meaningful sweep of the Asian range extreme. If the daily and weekly context strongly favours continuation, the ARH or ARL that should have been swept may simply be bypassed as London delivers through both. The Asian range Judas, like all Judas setups, is the standard AMD pattern — but the AMD can compress its manipulation phase on high-momentum days.

Using Asian Range width as a volatility filter on news days. The same news-day exception that applies to CBDR width applies here. On ECB decisions, BoE meetings, NFP, and CPI releases, Asian participants hold back, producing a narrow range that says nothing about the actual day's volatility. A 5-pip Asian Range on an ECB day does not mean skip London — it means the news release will produce the day's move, and the Asian range width is an unreliable signal for that session.

Frequently Asked Questions