Regional holiday calendars explain a lot of odd days

[Amanhasnoname]

Beyond the big bank holidays, regional holidays quietly change liquidity. Golden Week in Japan, Chinese New Year, Swiss national holidays, and various Gulf and Latin American closures all remove participants from specific pairs.

The effect shows up in cross pairs first. A holiday in one country leaves its currency thinly traded, which means wider spreads, jumpier price, and weaker follow-through.

A single calendar with the relevant holidays for the currencies traded takes an hour to build and pays back many times. Marking those days in the journal also helps explain unusual results later.

Some days are partial holidays, with markets open but staffed lightly. Those are easy to miss and can be the most confusing, since nothing looks closed on the platform.

Checking the calendar the evening before is a small habit that avoids a lot of bad days.

Syncing that calendar with a phone reminder the evening before takes seconds and prevents a surprising number of confusing sessions.

Which regional holidays have caused the most trouble on the pairs traded?