FX Spot Value Date Calculation: T+2, T+1 and Holiday Rules

An FX spot trade settles on its value date, normally two business days after the trade date (T+2). "Business day" here means a day both currencies' settlement systems are open, plus special USD rules.

The standard rules

1. Spot lag: T+2 for most pairs; T+1 for USD/CAD, USD/TRY, USD/RUB, USD/PHP and USD/KZT.
2. Intermediate day: for pairs against USD, T+1 only has to be a business day for the non-USD currency. A US holiday on T+1 does not push the date.
3. Value date: must be a business day in both currencies. If not, roll forward.
4. Crosses (e.g. EUR/GBP): the value date must also be a USD business day, because one leg usually settles through USD liquidity.

Example: EUR/USD over US Thanksgiving

Trade on Wednesday 25 November 2026. T+1 is Thanksgiving (US holiday), but it's a TARGET2 business day, so it counts. T+2 is Friday 27 November, open for both → spot is 27 Nov.

curl "https://bankday.jacklehoff4866.workers.dev/v1/fx/spot?pair=EURUSD&trade_date=2026-11-25" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BANKDAY_KEY"

Example: EUR/GBP rolls for a USD holiday

Trade on Tuesday 24 November 2026. T+2 is Thursday 26 November, a business day for EUR and GBP but a USD holiday, so the cross rolls to Friday 27 November.

curl "https://bankday.jacklehoff4866.workers.dev/v1/fx/spot?pair=EURGBP&trade_date=2026-11-24" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BANKDAY_KEY"

Currencies map to settlement calendars: USD → us-fed, EUR → eu-target2, GBP → uk-bacs, others → the issuing country.