Market Holidays
The forex market is normally open 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday. Except for the coordinatedpublic holidays in the world, which you can see in the calendar below
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Thursday, February 19No market holidays on this date
Forex Holidays Calendar 2026
In the international Forex market, not all trading days are equal in terms of volume and execution quality. Official public holidays in major economies and financial centers create meaningful differences in liquidity and market behavior. The Forex Holidays Calendar 2026 lists the days when central banks, stock exchanges, and key financial institutions in major economies are closed or operating with limited capacity. These conditions directly affect liquidity, spreads, and order execution quality.A Forex market "closure" typically occurs when one of the major trading sessions — London, New York, Tokyo, or Sydney — is closed, reducing order flow from primary liquidity sources. While price feeds usually remain active, market depth declines and operational risks increase. Reduced depth can lead to wider spreads, higher slippage, and irregular price movements across many currency pairs.Christmas Holidays and Their Impact on Trading Activity
Christmas Day is observed on December 25, and in some markets December 26 (Boxing Day) is also fully or partially closed. During this period, financial centers in Europe and the United States operate at reduced capacity, resulting in noticeably lower liquidity in major pairs such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY.Under low-volume conditions, price action signals become less reliable. Indicators such as RSI may generate unstable signals due to irregular price behavior. Safe-haven assets like gold (XAU/USD) may react differently, while the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) can exhibit sudden movements even in response to minor news events.Using ATR (Average True Range) to set volatility-adjusted stop-loss levels becomes particularly effective, helping avoid unnecessary stop-outs. Traders should also review their broker's holiday schedule, trading hour changes, instrument restrictions, and settlement conditions.New Year Holidays and Trading Challenges
The New Year holiday occurs on January 1, and the final trading days of the year typically experience declining volume. Many banks and financial institutions are closed or operating with reduced staffing, temporarily altering liquidity structure.A key difference between New Year and Christmas is that after markets fully reopen, directional shifts may occur and new trends may emerge. Therefore, reassessing key technical levels becomes especially important.Execution-based decisions should always reflect actual liquidity conditions rather than theoretical market assumptions.Key Considerations for Traders During Holiday Periods
Holidays such as Christmas and New Year typically reduce liquidity, increase spreads, and make volatility patterns less predictable. When banks and liquidity providers submit fewer orders to the market, slippage and false breakouts become more common, reducing overall execution quality.To manage these conditions effectively:- Reassess expected volatility ranges, key levels, and maximum acceptable loss before holidays.
- Reduce trade size or close high-risk positions in advance.
- Prioritize multi-timeframe confluence rather than relying on lower timeframes.
- Disable algorithmic systems during low-volume sessions or recalibrate parameters to reflect reduced volatility.
- Review both the economic calendar and your broker's Forex Holidays Calendar 2026.
- Prepare for post-holiday reopening gaps that may impact margin and risk exposure.
Useful Tools for Tracking the Forex Holidays Calendar
Holiday periods generally include banking and national holidays that limit interbank and liquidity provider activity, as well as exchange and futures market schedule changes such as CME or LSE holiday hours, which directly affect derivatives, gold, energy products, and indices.Liquidity reduction often results in spread expansion, increased reopening gaps, higher probability of false breakouts, and lower execution quality.To anticipate and manage these effects, traders should rely on multiple complementary tools rather than a single source.- Exchange and futures market schedules (CME, ICE, clearing houses) — Essential for traders in gold (XAU/USD), oil, or indices to anticipate schedule adjustments and gap risk.
- Official central bank holiday calendars (Federal Reserve, Bank of England, Bank of Japan) — Bank closures can directly impact related currencies.
- Calendar synchronization tools and APIs (Google Calendar integration, Calendarific, Holiday API) — Automating holiday tracking reduces human error.
- Charting platform tools (e.g., TradingView) — Session-color overlays and scripts help visually identify partially active or closed sessions.
- Broker announcements — Brokers typically publish revised trading hours, symbol restrictions, and settlement conditions before major holidays. Monitoring these updates should be part of your standard trading routine.
Conclusion
Although the Forex market operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, market depth declines significantly during major banking and national holidays such as Christmas, New Year's Day, Good Friday, and other official holidays in major economies. The Forex Holidays Calendar identifies these periods. Each broker — including DeltaFX — publishes its own version, which should be reviewed before making trading decisions. A Forex "closure" does not usually mean a complete halt in pricing. However, reduced ECN and liquidity provider participation leads to wider spreads, increased slippage, and higher risk of requotes. Understanding and planning for these liquidity dynamics is essential for professional-level risk management.Subscribe by your email
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