Thin holiday sessions: what changes on Thanksgiving, Golden Week and similar days
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 11:28 am
Holiday trading gets lumped together as quiet, but the quiet comes in different flavors depending on which market is shut.
- US Thanksgiving: the cash markets are closed, so EUR/USD and GBP/USD lose their usual afternoon liquidity. The day after is often a half session for US bond markets, and the thin conditions carry through. Moves can look decisive on little volume.
- Golden Week in Japan: Tokyo is closed for several days around late April and early May. USD/JPY loses its home market, and sharp moves in thin books have happened in the past in this stretch. That reputation alone is a reason to expect wider spreads and gappy fills.
- Chinese holidays: when onshore markets are closed, CNH and Asian crosses can trade with less guidance, and the usual fixing-related rhythm disappears.
- Christmas and New Year: liquidity providers often reduce the depth they quote, and spreads on exotics in particular can widen well past what a normal day shows.
- Easter and other European holidays: London may be closed while New York is open, which flips the usual balance and leaves the European morning flat.
The common thread is that a quiet chart is not the same as a safe chart. Thin books mean a single order can create a spike, and stops cluster in the same places they always did.
Some people reduce size on those days, some skip them, and some find the dull range conditions suit mean-reversion setups. Spread checks before entry matter more than usual, since a broker may quote differently on a holiday.
Which holiday session has surprised anyone here the most, and what did the spread or the fills do on the day?
- US Thanksgiving: the cash markets are closed, so EUR/USD and GBP/USD lose their usual afternoon liquidity. The day after is often a half session for US bond markets, and the thin conditions carry through. Moves can look decisive on little volume.
- Golden Week in Japan: Tokyo is closed for several days around late April and early May. USD/JPY loses its home market, and sharp moves in thin books have happened in the past in this stretch. That reputation alone is a reason to expect wider spreads and gappy fills.
- Chinese holidays: when onshore markets are closed, CNH and Asian crosses can trade with less guidance, and the usual fixing-related rhythm disappears.
- Christmas and New Year: liquidity providers often reduce the depth they quote, and spreads on exotics in particular can widen well past what a normal day shows.
- Easter and other European holidays: London may be closed while New York is open, which flips the usual balance and leaves the European morning flat.
The common thread is that a quiet chart is not the same as a safe chart. Thin books mean a single order can create a spike, and stops cluster in the same places they always did.
Some people reduce size on those days, some skip them, and some find the dull range conditions suit mean-reversion setups. Spread checks before entry matter more than usual, since a broker may quote differently on a holiday.
Which holiday session has surprised anyone here the most, and what did the spread or the fills do on the day?