Illiquid crosses in the Asian session are mostly a trap
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 6:45 am
GBPNZD, EURNZD, GBPCAD, and similar crosses can look tempting during the Asian session, especially when ranges are tidy and the charts are clean. Spreads tell a different story, and so does the depth underneath.
These pairs are synthesised from the major pairs behind them, and the quoted price depends on liquidity in both legs. In thin hours, the resulting spread can be three or four times the daytime figure. A target of 5 pips means paying a huge share of the move in costs.
Execution is worse too. Partial fills, requotes, and slippage appear more often because the broker's liquidity providers quote wider and less deeply. A stop can trigger on a spread spike without any real price movement.
Better candidates in Asia are usually the pairs where the local currencies are active, like USDJPY, AUDUSD, and AUDJPY. The liquidity is not spectacular, but it is far better than the odd crosses.
Which pairs seem to work best in the Asian session, and which ones got dropped after bad experiences?
These pairs are synthesised from the major pairs behind them, and the quoted price depends on liquidity in both legs. In thin hours, the resulting spread can be three or four times the daytime figure. A target of 5 pips means paying a huge share of the move in costs.
Execution is worse too. Partial fills, requotes, and slippage appear more often because the broker's liquidity providers quote wider and less deeply. A stop can trigger on a spread spike without any real price movement.
Better candidates in Asia are usually the pairs where the local currencies are active, like USDJPY, AUDUSD, and AUDJPY. The liquidity is not spectacular, but it is far better than the odd crosses.
Which pairs seem to work best in the Asian session, and which ones got dropped after bad experiences?