As the Yuan continues to strengthen, Chinese FX traders also come out to trade.
LeapRate Exclusive… LeapRate has learned, in discussions with various retail FX brokerages, that trading volumes from China-based clients have soared this year by about 30% — and even more at some firms which have been actively targeting the Chinese market.
What’s happening in China is essentially the same as what’ve been reporting has been occurring in Japan — but for opposite reasons. Japan FX brokers, such as GMO Click, have been setting volume records as a rapidly declining (and volatile) Yen has attracted retail traders back into the Japanese market. In China, it has been the opposite with the Yuan appreciating (see chart below) — and increasingly so — since Chinese authorities decided to further relax currency trading rules, and allow a wider trading band for the Yuan. But the effect has been the same — more volatility, more awareness of currencies among the Chinese retail trading crowd — and more volumes.
One year USD/CNY price chart (Source XE.com):
Many foreign FX brokers have been trying to break into the Chinese market lately, mainly via establishing introducer and IB relationships. We’ve also seen a number of global FX brokers opening offices in Australia., mainly with an eye toward China and the Asia-Pacific region generally.
We expect this phenomenal retail FX China growth to continue, as looser currency policy combines with an increasing awareness of currencies and trading in China.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.