Scandinavian crosses: thin books and sudden gaps

[Amanhasnoname]

The Swedish krona and the Norwegian krone are traded in much smaller volumes than major currencies. Pairs such as USD/SEK, EUR/NOK, and others have wider spreads and shallower depth.

Prices can jump with small orders, especially outside European hours. Slippage is more common, and stop orders can fill far from their levels.

Liquidity is highly concentrated in the European morning. Late in the day and overnight, spreads widen, and the tape becomes erratic.

The currencies are also sensitive to risk sentiment and oil prices, in the Norwegian case. Moves tied to commodity shifts or central bank decisions can be sharp.

Scalpers drawn to the large percentage moves should evaluate the costs honestly. The spread can be several pips on a pair that moves a few dozen pips a day.

If these pairs are traded at all, limit the activity to the hours of best liquidity, use limit orders where possible, and keep sizes small.

A look at realized costs against movement often shows that they are not good scalping candidates.

What costs and slippage show up when trading Scandinavian pairs compared with the majors?