Bank holidays create ghost sessions with strange liquidity

[Amanhasnoname]

When one major financial centre closes for a holiday, forex does not stop, but liquidity changes shape. A UK bank holiday removes much of the London flow. A US holiday cuts New York depth. The pair most tied to the closed market often behaves oddly.

Price still moves, but participation is thinner. Spreads can be normal or slightly wider, which hides the fact that orders are filling against less depth. A moderate trade can move the price more than usual, and stops cluster in ways that are easier to hunt.

Chart patterns also behave differently. Breakouts fail or stall, ranges look unusually tidy, and then a single order pushes price through them. Indicators calibrated on regular sessions give weaker signals in those hours.

Checking a holiday calendar for each currency in a pair takes a minute and often explains a day of unusual behaviour. The safest approach for many scalpers is skipping the pair or reducing size, rather than assuming the normal rules apply.

Which holidays have proven the worst for scalping, and which pairs are best avoided on those days?