Time zones

Three clocks matter, and each has its own setting.

The file's clock (server time)

MetaTrader reports print the broker's server time, not yours. Most brokers run the server at New York time + 7 hours (GMT+2 in winter, GMT+3 in summer) — the journal's default, shown as NY+7. When you upload the first file of an account you can change it; that choice becomes the account's server time zone and is filled in for the next files. If a later file is uploaded with a different zone, you get a warning.

If all trade times look shifted by the same few hours, the server time zone was wrong: undo that import on Imports and upload the file again with the right server time.

The trading day

Each account has a time zone and a day start (00:00 by default; forex traders often use 17:00 New York). Daily P&L, the calendar and the daily loss limit use these. Futures can have their own session.

Your display time

Times on screens use the time zone in your profile. The hour in reports and insight cards uses it too. Trades whose broker time is imprecise (for example, a file with dates only) are left out of the hour breakdown — the report says how many.