Metals volumes were strong, but FX volumes disappointed in April.
CME Group, which runs the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, announced April FX volumes which were surprisingly down by 16% from March. FX contract volumes (mainly Eurodollar futures contracts) traded at CME came in at 898,000 in April, down 16%% from March’s 1,072,000 (see chart below).
Metals volumes, however, did very well, up 62% in April. Not surprising, since as we reported earlier the $200 price drop in Gold (and related drops in other commodities) drove record daily volumes at CME and at various retail FX brokers earlier in the month.
To be fair, March was the fifth month in a row of FX volume increases at CME, and March was its third best month ever. But with FX volume records being broken in Japan, and with volatility high during the month, most market observers (including us) were expecting something better than a 16% decline.
We’ll soon see if CME’s FX futures volumes correlate with the spot FX market, as Forex ECNs and certain retail FX brokers report their April volumes in the coming days. Stay tuned to LeapRate…
For the press release from the CME Group on April volumes click here.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.