Why is the GMT Offset so Important for Indicators and Expert Advisors?

Why do we need a GMT Offset, and what is it? Why is it so important? I often hear these questions, and today we will find the answers.

If you are not interested in reasoning, and you do not want to read the whole article, I will say the following right away:

But not for all and not always!

If the time filter for your Expert Advisor or Indicator is an important module, then you need to be mindful of choosing the right GMT Offset. How to do it I wrote earlier.

Now let’s see in detail.

What is the Cause of the GMT Offset?

Now, let’s look at two charts. The first is taken from a broker with GMT +2. Second – with GMT +1.

As we can see, the time opening (00:00), if GMT Offset is different, is in different places.

You may say: But the difference is only one hour!

Yes, it is. But even if the difference is only one hour, it is still a difference. If you’re exploring for a few days and a few currency pairs, the difference will be more and more.

And as a result, we can obtain is not the result expected by the author of an Expert Advisor or Indicator.

Article: How to set correct GMT Offset

GMT Offset in the All-in-One Trade Indicator (AOTI)

As we can see, the signals appeared at different times, but they are correct. All because we used the correct GMT Offset for each of the brokers. And, as a result, the calculation of the levels is correct.

Daily Levels can be a bit on different levels – this is normal, because of various brokers, besides the GMT Offset, there are different historical data, that can change the calculations.

But if we disable the automatic detection of GMT Offset and set the value of GMT Offset = 2 manually, at a broker who’s GMT Offset is +1, then we see the following:

As the market is not very volatile, we saw very similar levels for today. But yesterday’s levels, with that GMT Offset, have changed more strongly.

But if the market is volatile and price shows significant movements, we may get completely different levels, unlike those planned by the developer.

I hope I was able to answer the question about the importance of the GMT Offset for some Indicators, Trading Systems, and Expert Advisors.

p.s. Thanks for Susann for the illustration of the featured image for this article. In my opinion, this image reflects a deep meaning and importance of time.