With 2024 finally ending, it is time to think about year-end trading. As the Forex market is mostly headquartered in London and New York, Forex traders should be aware of the western holiday season of Christmas and New Year because it impacts market opening and, arguably, the market itself. The overlap between the end of the year and the start of a new year is sometimes challenging because December and January can hold some great trading opportunities. Still, you want to refrain from trading in markets with exceptionally low levels of liquidity and volatility.
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So, let us pick through the daily trading calendar, showing the usual hours most brokers will be shut down or closed early, plus some advice about when to trade:
Daily Trading Calendar | ||
Date | Typical Early Closing Time (UTC / GMT) | Advice |
Tuesday 24th December 2024 – CHRISTMAS EVE | Some brokers will close early, depending upon where they are based. | Liquidity can be thin, especially after the London session ends, so it is usually wise to wrap up trading early today, or not to trade at all. |
Wednesday 25th December 2024 –CHRISTMAS DAY | The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland celebrate a public holiday, as does almost every European country and the Americas. Practically every broker will be closed today. | There will be no trading today. |
Thursday 26th December 2024 – BOXING DAY | The UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland celebrate a public holiday. Many brokers will be closed today, but it will be a normal trading day in USA markets. | Some Forex / CFD brokers may be open today, but many major markets (including the UK) will be closed, so trading volumes are liable to be thin. It may not be a good idea to trade today. |
Friday 27th / Monday 30th December 2024 | There are no public holidays, and all markets come back online today at the Tokyo opens. | Volumes may be at least a little thin, so trading may not be a good idea, at least in less liquid instruments. However, strong trends often continue strongly at this time of year, so there might be a good reason to trade. |
Tuesday 31st December 2024 – New Year's Eve | Some brokers will close early, depending upon where they are based. | As the final day of the year, this can see volatile and unpredictable markets, but it can be interesting for some traders. |
Wednesday 1st January 2025 – NEW YEAR’S DAY | Today is a public holiday in the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, so almost all brokers will not open. It is a holiday in nearly every European country. | There will be no trading today. |
Thursday 2nd January 2025 | Normal trading and market conditions resume as the holidays finally come to a complete end. However, Switzerland celebrates a public holiday today so CHF markets will be closed. | As soon as Tokyo opens for business today, markets will likely burst into life. Direction can be confusing, but volatility and volume will probably be high. |
If you are celebrating, enjoy the holiday, and if you are not, try to avoid entering new trades when major markets are thin. Then, we can all enjoy a happy new year in 2025! This is the daily calendar covering the holiday period.
Final Thoughts
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 until 2nd January. However, if you are trading strongly trending assets, there are often strong rises over the final few days of December.
