It is that time of year again! As the Forex market is centered in London and North America, traders should pay attention to their holiday season of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. This time can be confusing as December holds some great trading opportunities, but you don’t want to be trading in dead markets or markets with very thin volume that are perfect arenas for stop hunters looking to kill your trades. So let’s go through it day by day, showing the typical hours most brokers close early, and a little advice:
Date | Typical Opening Time (GMT) | Typical Early Closing Time (GMT) | Advice |
Thursday – 27th November | Normal | 17:00 – public holiday in U.S.A. | This is a public holiday in the U.S.A. so many financial professionals there will be away and the market will be thinner than usual after 13:00 GMT. Avoid entering new USD trades after this time. |
Tuesday - 23rd December | Normal | None – public holiday in Japan | Many financial professionals in Europe and North America will already have gone on holiday. It is a public holiday in Japan. The markets are open as usual today, but it is recommended from this point not to initiate any new trades, especially in European currencies, and to reduce exposure on any long-term trades. |
Wednesday 24th December – CHRISTMAS EVE | Normal | 18:00 – public holiday in Germany and New Zealand | Even more professionals will be on holiday from today, especially in Europe. It is a public holiday in Germany and New Zealand. The market is likely to be extremely thin in the morning and to die at lunchtime. |
Thursday 25th December – CHRISTMAS DAY | CLOSED – public holiday throughout Europe and North America | All financial markets are closed today. | |
Friday 26th December – BOXING DAY | 07:00 | None – public holiday throughout Europe and Canada | It is a public holiday throughout Europe and Canada. Open markets are likely to be extremely thin. |
Monday / Tuesday – 29th / 30th December | Normal | None | The markets should pick up, with many Europeans returning to work. It is possible to enter new trades today and there may well be some directional movement in the markets. |
Wednesday 31st December – NEW YEAR’S EVE | Normal | 18:00 – public holiday in Japan and Germany | Markets in general are likely to be slow and thin. It is probably a good idea not to enter any new trades today. Take care to avoid Japanese and European instruments in any case. |
Thursday 1st January | CLOSED – global public holiday | All financial markets are closed today. | |
Friday 2nd January | 01:00 | None | Back to normal… almost! This is the first trading day of 2015, but there are still going to be many people not back from holiday until Monday 5th January, so things might be a little slower than usual. The first few days of January often see the start of large directional moves, but Monday is likely to be the first “full volume” day. |
So, those are the day-by-day details. Even if you are not in a country that celebrates Christmas, it is probably a good idea to take advantage of it and forget about trading for the entire week from Monday 22nd December until 2nd or even 5th January. You probably won’t miss much, and you’ll be refreshed and ready to take advantage of all the opportunities that 2015 will have to offer!