Regional holidays that quietly wreck scalping conditions
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 8:44 am
Christmas and New Year are obvious. The ones that cost money are the holidays that do not make the front page of the economic calendar. A US bank holiday leaves dollar pairs trading with a fraction of normal depth. Japan's Golden Week thins out yen crosses for several days. Chinese New Year can dry up Asian session activity, and a UK bank holiday takes the London morning down a gear even though other centres are open.
The effect on a scalper is concrete. Spreads widen, often in jumps rather than gradually, and the move per minute shrinks, so the ratio of range to cost deteriorates from both ends. A setup that clears costs by a comfortable margin on a regular Tuesday can sit under water on a holiday Monday.
Early closes matter too. Many exchanges and desks wind down early the day before a major holiday, so liquidity can fade hours ahead of the official break. Value dates and swap charges can also shift around holidays, and the details differ by broker.
Practical step: copy the holiday lists for each currency in the pairs being traded into the same calendar used for news, mark the affected pairs, and decide in advance whether to trade smaller or not at all.
Which holiday has hit your spreads hardest, and on which pair?
The effect on a scalper is concrete. Spreads widen, often in jumps rather than gradually, and the move per minute shrinks, so the ratio of range to cost deteriorates from both ends. A setup that clears costs by a comfortable margin on a regular Tuesday can sit under water on a holiday Monday.
Early closes matter too. Many exchanges and desks wind down early the day before a major holiday, so liquidity can fade hours ahead of the official break. Value dates and swap charges can also shift around holidays, and the details differ by broker.
Practical step: copy the holiday lists for each currency in the pairs being traded into the same calendar used for news, mark the affected pairs, and decide in advance whether to trade smaller or not at all.
Which holiday has hit your spreads hardest, and on which pair?