# Why are the currency exchange markets closed on saturday and Sunday? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 17, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106 "2016-07-17T07:27:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/1 "2016-07-17T07:27:53Z")
I think it must be worldwide. Although we live on a rotating and revolving planet with time zones which span the 24 hour earthly clock, it seems Saturday and Sunday are sacred and no currency exchange dealings occur. Is this due to USA and UK market supremacy… that the currency exchange markets are located in London and NYC? or ? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/2 "2016-07-17T08:06:17Z")
I am not sure why you think that. Forex is traded all the time, whether the New York or London exchanges are open or not: > [@](#): > > The ability of the forex to trade over a 24-hour period is due in part to different time zones and the fact it is comprised of a network of computers, rather than any one physical exchange that closes at a particular time. When you hear that the U.S. dollar closed at a certain rate, it simply means that that was the rate at market close in New York. But it continues to be traded around the world long after New York’s close, unlike securities. > [Why Is the Forex Market Open 24 Hours a Day?](http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/forex24hoursaday.asp#ixzz4EeQmANu7) ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/3 "2016-07-17T08:27:20Z")
and yet, checking [http://www.xe.com](http://www.xe.com), the rates stay frozen over the weekend. Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/4 "2016-07-17T09:59:20Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > and yet, checking [http://www.xe.com](http://www.xe.com), the rates stay frozen over the weekend. Why is that? As an ordinary person, you can usually buy currency only in your own country. I don’t know, but I would expect that in Saudi Arabia, the exchange will be closed on Friday/Saturday. Every country has its own rules. If you are a currency trader, I have no doubt that you could buy or sell Dollars at any time of the day or night on any day of the week - you just have to find an exchange that is open for business. Thinking about it - I can buy Dollars retail online right now (11am Sunday) ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/5 "2016-07-17T15:02:48Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > that the currency exchange markets are located in London and NYC? or ? Forex markets are not located anywhere in particular nowadays. There used to be forex exchanges similar to stock exchanges, in physical buildings with (initially) open outcry trading and (later) electronic computer trading. Not any more, at leats not on a big scale. The vast majority of forex trading nowadays is done over-the-counter, via dislocated networks, either over the phone (traders calling each other to get quotes) or via online communication platforms. Consequently, trading can take place anytime whenever there are two market participants making a deal. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/6 "2016-07-17T15:20:50Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > and yet, checking [http://www.xe.com](http://www.xe.com), the rates stay frozen over the weekend. They don’t. Click on any of the currency pairs on that website; a little chart will pop up that gives you the mid-market rates over the last 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/7 "2016-07-17T15:44:33Z")
I beg to disagree, at least on my computer. Exactly the opposite occurs, heading into the weekend the rates flatline. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/8 "2016-07-17T15:48:01Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I beg to disagree, at least on my computer. Exactly the opposite occurs, heading into the weekend the rates flatline. For all rates? I get charts with ups and downs for many, though not all, currency pairs. ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/9 "2016-07-17T15:53:02Z")
specifically looking at $ - € rate ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/10 "2016-07-17T17:38:05Z")
While you can trade major currencies pretty much any time you wish (not necessarily you I mean one can), you can only trade when someone else wishes to as well. Dealers typically serve this function. It doesn’t pay a dealer to waste his time sitting around if only a few wish to trade, so trading tends to concentrate at certain times of the day and certain days of the week. I don’t think it should surprise you, that Saturday and Sundays are slow times for the much of the “Western world” Also if you’re a speculator, you want to get to the market first with information. Less information arrives on the weekend because we don’t have other trading (stock markets bond markets) or other relevant news reports (unemployment, etc.) coming out ---
**Author:** ![bardos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bardos/32/1069_2.png) [@bardos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bardos)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/11 "2016-07-17T17:43:45Z")
I am not talking about “slow times”. It appears that at the weekend, there is absolutely nothing happening with the $ and €. Zero, zilch. nada. The Friday close rate remains the same the whole weekend until Monday ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/12 "2016-07-17T21:59:59Z")
I don’t know where those quotes are coming from. Foreign exchange (except for futures) is a dealer market. Those could be one dealer’s quotes. If a dealer does not do business over the week-end there’s no need to update their own quotes. It’s not like the stock exchanges where there is a centralized quote giving you the last trade price. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/13 "2016-07-17T22:59:03Z")
The major FX markets are in New York, Tokyo, London, and Sidney, and each of them is open 8-5 (or something like that) local time. Between the four of them, there’s always somewhere you can trade during the week (I think Sidney only became important because there is a two hour window when the other three are closed). Over the weekend there is a period where all four are shut down, so I guess that is when [xe.com](http://xe.com) doesn’t show changes. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/14 "2016-07-17T23:25:12Z")
in the US you cannot transfer money electronically from bank to bank on weekends. I think it’s just tradition and they are too cheap to pay people to monitor the systems on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/15 "2016-07-18T00:02:07Z")
The banks will be continuously in the market, but perhaps not open to retail customers. At the next level down, a large international company (and some small international companies) may have rolling treasury offices, matching the rolling availability of the FX exchanges, but with everybody working normal office hours. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-the-currency-exchange-markets-closed-on-saturday-and-sunday/760106/16 "2016-07-18T00:05:06Z")
my credit union is open 12 hours a day 7 days a week. They close only on big holidays like Easter, Christmas, New Year’s , etc. All the tellers are remote, none of them are at branches.