Currency Settlement Holidays

Currency Settlement Holidays

Currency holidays are days in which the there is no settlement of prior transactions. Standard settlement periods for most currencies is 2 business days, with some pairs such as CAD/USD settling next business day.

In order for a date to be a valid settlement date for an FX transaction, the central banks for both currencies must be open for settlements. If either currency has a 'holiday' on the target settlement date, settlement is deferred until the next valid business day for both currencies. In addition, intervening holidays, that is a holiday between trade date and the standard 2 days later may or may not defer settlement, depending on which currencies are involved. Most currency transactions will not settle on a USD settlement holiday. This treatment is regardless of whether USD is part of the transaction directly, i.e. a EUR.JPY currency transaction will not settle on a USD settlement holiday but will be deferred to the next valid business day for all three currencies.

Traders with large FX positions should familiarize themselves with the industry standards for FX settlement as this may have significant impact on their settled cash balances in the various currencies. Please note, if your FX transaction(s) involve currencies with different settlement dates, you could incur significant financing and/or carrying costs. The following table lists upcoming non-settlement dates for each currency and is offered as a service to FX traders. We collect this information from third party distributors and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.

Examples of settlement day determination

• Assume that trade date is Tuesday July 1: a normal transaction executed prior to 17:00 EST in USD/EUR would settle in 2 business days, Thursday July 3. Transactions after 17:00 EST are deemed to be next day transactions with trade date July 2.
• If trade date is Wednesday July 2, then 2 normal business days would indicate a Friday July 4 settlement date. However since July 4 is a US holiday, settlements will be deferred until the next valid business day in both USD and EUR, in this case Monday July 7. If Monday were also a holiday in EUR, then settlement would be again deferred until Tuesday.