Breakout EA Template — Asian Range Breakout for MetaTrader 5
Trade the Asian session range breakout at the London open — one of the most reliable and well-documented patterns in forex. This free EA template identifies the overnight consolidation range, waits for price to break out when European traders enter the market, and enters with ATR-based risk management. Build it in AlgoStudio without coding and export a production-ready MQL5 Expert Advisor.
What Is Asian Range Breakout Trading?
During the Asian session (Tokyo, approximately 00:00–08:00 GMT), the forex market is relatively quiet. Price consolidates in a narrow range as trading volume is lower than during the European and US sessions. This consolidation creates a clearly defined high and low — the Asian range.
When the London session opens at 08:00 GMT, European traders and institutions enter the market. Volume surges, and price often breaks out of the Asian range with conviction. The breakout strategy captures this volatility expansion by entering a trade when price moves above the Asian high (buy) or below the Asian low (sell).
This strategy is popular because it offers clear entry levels (the range high and low), natural stop loss placement (inside the range), and a predictable timing window (the London open). You always know where to enter, where to place your stop, and when to look for setups.
How This EA Template Works
The strategy limits to one trade per day. Once the breakout is traded (win or loss), the EA waits for the next Asian session to form a new range. This prevents overtrading and keeps risk exposure predictable — you never have more than one position open from this strategy.
The range size filter is important. If the Asian range is too narrow (under 20 pips), there isn't enough consolidation for a meaningful breakout. If it's too wide (over 80 pips), the stop loss would be too far away and the risk-reward ratio deteriorates. The 20–80 pip range captures the sweet spot for most major pairs.
Default Parameters
Optimized for EURUSD and GBPUSD on M15/M30 timeframes. All parameters are exported as input variables for MT5 Strategy Tester optimization.
| Parameter | Value | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Range Session | Asian (00:00–08:00 GMT) | Timing |
| Breakout Session | London Open (08:00–12:00 GMT) | Timing |
| Stop Loss | 1.5x ATR(14) | ATR-based |
| Take Profit | 1.5:1 R:R | Risk-reward |
| Min Range Size | 20 pips | Filter |
| Max Range Size | 80 pips | Filter |
| Max Trades/Day | 1 | Risk |
| Position Sizing | 1% risk per trade | Risk |
How to Build This EA Without Coding
1. Create a new project in AlgoStudio
Sign up for free and create a new project. Name it “Asian Range Breakout” and open the visual builder canvas.
2. Set up the range detection
Add a Range Breakout block and configure it for the Asian session (00:00–08:00 GMT). Set the minimum range to 20 pips and maximum to 80 pips. This block automatically tracks the session high and low and triggers when price breaks out.
3. Set the breakout window
Add a Custom Times block for the London open window (08:00–12:00 GMT). This limits breakout entries to the first 4 hours of London — the period with the highest probability of genuine breakouts rather than false breaks.
4. Add risk management and export
Add Stop Loss (1.5x ATR placed inside the Asian range), Take Profit at 1.5:1 R:R, position sizing at 1% risk, and Max Trades Per Day set to 1. Export the MQL5 file, backtest on EURUSD M15 with 2+ years of data, and optimize the range filters and timing parameters.
When Breakout Strategies Work Best — and When They Don't
Works well when
The Asian session has a tight, well-defined range (30–60 pips on EURUSD). Major economic releases are scheduled during the London session. The market has been consolidating overnight and institutional volume pushes price decisively through the range boundary.
Struggles when
The Asian session was already volatile (wide range > 80 pips). It's a low-volume day (bank holidays, between Christmas and New Year). The range is extremely tight (< 20 pips), which often means the market is in a dead zone with no institutional interest. The range size filter catches most of these scenarios.