LMAX Group, the independent operator of institutional execution venues for FX and crypto currency trading, launched a Weekend FX service to enable clients to trade outside of market hours for the first time on institutional grade exchange infrastructure.
The Weekend FX service operates from Friday 17:05 EST to Sunday 17:00 EST when the spot FX market is closed. It will be available through FCA regulated broker LMAX Global.
The new service was introduced in response to high demand from institutional market participants and liquidity providers to trade and hedge FX exposure when the underlying FX market is closed. The launch also comes at a time when important events take place outside of FX market hours, affecting the ability of traders to respond to opportunities. These events have also increased traders’ exposure to geopolitical or structural risks as governments and supranational agencies have sought to respond to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and recent market crisis.
LMAX Group has clients in 100 different countries. With the new service, the company offers them a way of managing their risk during a closed market and is expected to be a key influence in the long-term growth of the Weekend FX service as the FX industry evolves to a 24/7 traded market.
The last few months have reinforced the common understanding that volatility doesn’t stop on a Friday night and risk events have now extended beyond the working week. As a result, the current trading session doesn’t reflect market participants’ increasing need to access FX liquidity 24/7 in order to exchange risk – this puts significant pressure on the FX market to move with the times and become fully accessible seven days a week.
He added:
We see the service being popular with FX investors of all types, from hedge funds through to retail brokers, as means of exchanging risk and accessing institutional grade liquidity through our fair and transparent execution venue.
We are very confident of long-term demand for this service, given the unassailable move to 24/7 FX trading on the back of consistent investor demand over the past 30 years for increased market access, increasing levels of global trade and the need for more efficient capital markets. We consider a full move to 24/7 spot FX trading a real possibility within the next five years, with Weekend FX representing a clear step forward in achieving this goal.
Mercer continued:
More broadly we see LMAX Weekend FX as the first step along the path to all asset classes and markets opening up to perpetual trading and transitioning to complete, open market access.
Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
