Does CME Globex trade on US public holidays?

Often on an abbreviated schedule rather than a full closure, and the details vary by holiday and product. The exchange publishes a holiday calendar for each one, which is the only reliable source.

Why was my session profile so small on a holiday?

Because the holiday session was shorter and thinner than a normal one. Comparing it with regular sessions, or including it in averages, distorts relative volume and profile shape.

Exchange holidays and early closes

Exchange holiday schedules define the days when futures do not trade, trade on shortened hours or close early. On US holidays CME Globex often trades an abbreviated session rather than closing completely, and the trades may be assigned to the following trade date, so the calendar has to be read for each holiday rather than assumed.

Senzoukria · Glossary · Updated September 2026

What changes on a holiday

Shortened sessions: trading may halt early or start late.
Combined trade dates: trades during a holiday session can belong to the next trade date.
No settlement on the holiday itself when there is no trade date for it.
Shifted deadlines: rules defined in business days move when a holiday falls in the count.
Thin participation: a holiday session can print prices and volume unrepresentative of a normal day.

Worked example: business-day arithmetic

A crude oil contract stops trading three business days before the 25th of the month before delivery. If the 25th is a Monday and the previous Friday is an exchange holiday, the three business days before it are Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday of the prior week, so the last trading day is that Tuesday. A calendar that ignores the holiday counts Friday, Thursday and Wednesday and lands on Wednesday, one business day too late.

Why an order flow trader should care

Holiday sessions distort anything that compares today with a normal day: relative volume, session volume profiles, opening ranges, the overnight high and low. A holiday-shortened session followed by a full one can produce a daily profile that looks like a structural shift when it is only a calendar effect.

In Senzoukria

The application does not guess holidays. Its expiry engine counts business days as Monday to Friday and says so in its documentation: a computed last trading day can be one business day off around a holiday, which the roll buffer (8 or 4 calendar days before the last trading day) absorbs for the choice of the default contract. The market clock follows the regular CME schedule and states that it does not guess holidays, so on a holiday a closed market can look like a silent feed.

Common mistakes

Assuming CME is closed whenever the US stock market is closed.
Using a weekday calendar for expiry or notice dates in a holiday week.
Comparing a holiday session's volume with a normal session's.

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Frequently asked questions

Does CME Globex trade on US public holidays?: Often on an abbreviated schedule rather than a full closure, and the details vary by holiday and product. The exchange publishes a holiday calendar for each one, which is the only reliable source.
Why was my session profile so small on a holiday?: Because the holiday session was shorter and thinner than a normal one. Comparing it with regular sessions, or including it in averages, distorts relative volume and profile shape.

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