Chicago, United States

Chicago runs on Central Standard Time (CST), UTC−6, moving to Central Daylight Time (CDT), UTC−5, in spring. Situated in the heart of the continent, it splits the difference between the coasts.

Midday in Chicago lines up with 1 PM in New York, 6 PM in London, and 2 AM the next day in Tokyo. Traders on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange use this central position to overlap with both East Coast and European markets.

The Windy City anchors the Midwest economy and hosts major commodities exchanges, making precise time coordination essential for futures and options trading worldwide.