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 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 Early Closing Time (GMT) | Advice |
Friday 23rd December | 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 to be careful as the market volume may begin to thin out. |
Monday 26th December – BOXING DAY / LIEU CHIRSTMAS DAY | CLOSED – public holiday throughout Europe and North America | All major financial markets are closed today, except Japan. |
Tuesday 27th December – LIEU BOXING DAY | None – public holiday in the U.K. and Canada | Most markets and brokers reopen at the start of Tokyo business today. Markets likely to be thin until the New York open today. |
Monday 2nd January – LIEU NEW YEAR’S DAY | CLOSED – public holiday throughout Europe and North America | Many major financial markets are closed today, except Japan. Markets will be closed in the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K. and Switzerland. |
Tuesday 3rd January | None – public holiday in Japan | Back to normal! Except for Japan, even though most brokers will reopen at about 8am Tokyo time today. This is the first real trading day of 2016 and you don’t want to miss it. The first few days of January often see the start of large directional moves. |
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 until 3rd January. You probably won’t miss much, and you’ll be refreshed and ready to take advantage of all the opportunities that 2016 will offer!