December 2015: Christmas / New Year Trading Schedule | Trading Forex

It is that time of year again! As the Forex market is centered in London and North America, traders should pay attention to their holiday season of Christmas and New Year. This time can be confusing as December holds some great trading opportunities, but you don’t want to be trading in dead markets or markets with very thin volume that are perfect arenas for stop hunters looking to kill your trades. So let’s go through it day by day, showing the typical hours most brokers close early, and a little advice:

Date	Typical Early Closing Time (GMT)	Advice
Wednesday 23^rd December	None – public holiday in Japan	Many financial professionals in Europe and North America will already have gone on holiday. It is a public holiday in Japan. The markets are open as usual today, but it is recommended from this point not to initiate any new trades, especially in European currencies, and to reduce exposure on any long-term trades.
Thursday 24^th December – CHRISTMAS EVE	18:00 – public holiday in Germany	Even more professionals will be on holiday from today, especially in Europe. It is a public holiday in Germany. The market is likely to be extremely thin in the morning and to die at lunchtime.
Friday 25^th December – CHRISTMAS DAY	CLOSED – public holiday throughout Europe and North America	All financial markets are closed today.
Monday 28^th December – BOXING DAY	None – public holiday in the U.K., Canada, Australia & New Zealand	It is a public holiday in a few key markets. Open markets are likely to be very thin.
Thursday 31^st December – NEW YEAR’S EVE	18:00 – public holiday in Japan, Germany, Australia & New Zealand	Markets in general are likely to be slow and thin. It is probably a good idea not to enter any new trades today. Take care to avoid Japanese and European instruments in any case.
Friday 1^st January	CLOSED – global public holiday	All financial markets are closed today.
Monday 4^th January	None – public holiday in New Zealand	Back to normal! Except for New Zealand. This is the first trading day of 2016 and you don’t want to miss it. The first few days of January often see the start of large directional moves.

So, those are the day-by-day details. Even if you are not in a country that celebrates Christmas, it is probably a good idea to take advantage of it and forget about trading for the entire week and maybe even until 4th January. You probably won’t miss much, and you’ll be refreshed and ready to take advantage of all the opportunities that 2014 will have to offer!

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