BullsEdges algo trading guide: MetaTrader runs on the broker's server clock, not yours. Getting time zones wrong breaks session filters, news filters and daily statistics. Here is how to avoid it.
Every MetaTrader chart, trade time and EA time function is based on the broker's server time. It is rarely the same as your local time, and often not the same as GMT. Many automation bugs come from mixing these clocks.
BullsEdges algo trading application: Document the broker's UTC offset and check daylight-saving changes before relying on session or news filters.
Why brokers use odd time zones
Many forex brokers set their server to GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer. That makes the daily candle close at 5 p.m. New York time (the traditional forex day end) and produces five daily candles per week instead of six. Other brokers use GMT or GMT+0/+1.
Your local time could be anything - for example India Standard Time is GMT+5:30 all year.
Daylight saving makes it worse
The US and Europe change their clocks on different dates, and many countries (including India) do not change at all. For a few weeks each spring and autumn, the gaps between New York, London, your broker and you all shift. A filter that blocked the right hour in September can block the wrong one in November.
What uses which clock
- Chart times and trade history: server time.
- MQL5 TimeCurrent(): server time of the last tick.
- MQL5 TimeLocal(): the computer's clock - on a VPS, the VPS time zone.
- MQL5 TimeGMT(): GMT.
- The MT5 economic calendar: event times are in trade server time.
That last one causes real bugs. An EA that compares calendar times with TimeGMT() on a GMT+3 server pauses three hours late - it trades straight through the release and stops for no reason afterwards. The fix is to compare calendar times with server time.
How to find your broker's offset
- Look at the time shown in Market Watch, and compare with the current GMT.
- Or check the time of the daily candle close: 00:00 on the server is the rollover.
- Note whether the offset changed on the last daylight-saving date.
Practical rules
- Write all EA time inputs in server time and state that clearly in the input description.
- Keep a conversion table for yourself: server time, GMT, your local time, New York time.
- Re-check filters after each daylight-saving change in the US and Europe.
- Log the time when an EA pauses or resumes, including which clock it is using.
- For news, rely on the calendar's own times in server time rather than typing local times by hand.
Daily statistics
"Profit today" depends on which clock defines the day. A dashboard that uses local time and a broker statement that uses server time will disagree near midnight. Pick one and label it.
BullsEdges takeaway for algo trading
Time-based rules are only as good as the clock behind them. Know your broker's server offset, use server time consistently inside EAs, and re-check after every clock change.
Trading forex and gold carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for every investor. Past performance and backtests do not guarantee future results. This article is education, not financial advice.