First peek at December FX industry volumes is looking good.
CME Group, which runs the world’s largest derivatives marketplace, announced that FX contract volumes (mainly Eurodollar futures contracts) in its system were up by 7% in December from November, and up 14% from last year December, to an average of 826,000 contracts daily. The EURUSD’s bull run, from 1.29 at the beginning of December up to the 1.32 range toward the end of the month, seems to have brought FX traders back to the market in what is normally a slow pre-holiday season trading month.
We expect at this point to report a slight rise in the December LeapRate Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, due out later in the month. We should learn more when Forex ECNs such as ICAP, Hotspot FX, FXall and Thomson Reuters release figures in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned…
While CME’s reported volumes are futures contracts, they typically are a good predictor of retail / spot volumes as well. Those markets are interconnected, and are typically driven by the same catalyst — namely volatility.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.