Gulf business days, with Eid dates you can trust
Gulf markets don't share the West's weekend, or each other's history: Saudi Arabia rests Friday and Saturday, while the UAE moved to Saturday and Sunday in 2022. Their biggest holidays, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, follow the moon and are confirmed only days ahead, so a date booked months out can move.
How it works
Name the calendars a payment or trade depends on: the exchange, the currency’s settlement calendar, and any other leg such as USD. The API counts only days when all of them are open, so a dollar–riyal payment lands Monday to Thursday and steps over Eid in Riyadh as well as the US holidays.
Each Gulf calendar keeps its weekend history. The UAE calendars switch from a Friday–Saturday weekend to Saturday–Sunday on 1 January 2022, so a date range across the change counts the right days on both sides.
Eid dates are estimated until they’re announced. Then the calendar is updated, the dates become confirmed, and the change feed records it. Webhooks and email alerts send a holiday.confirmed event when the confirmed dates are published, so nobody has to watch for the announcement.
Try it
Try it with your API key:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $FC_API_KEY" "https://api.financecalendarapi.com/v1/business-days/add?date=2027-03-04&n=2&calendars=USD,SAR"
Settlement date calculator runs it in your browser.
Calendars for this
Questions
How do you know when Eid will be?
Until it's announced, an Eid date is an estimate from the Islamic calendar and is marked estimated. When the government, central bank or exchange announces it, the date becomes confirmed, citing the announcement.
Can I be told when an Eid date is confirmed?
Yes. Add a webhook or an email alert for the Gulf calendars you use and you get a holiday.confirmed event when an estimated Eid is confirmed, whether its dates stayed or moved.
Which days can a US dollar payment against riyals settle?
Only when both systems are open: Monday to Thursday, because Fedwire closes on Saturday and Sunday and the Saudi riyal system on Friday and Saturday. Pass calendars=USD,SAR and the API skips all three days and both sets of holidays.
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