Retail FX volume metrics start 2014 with a bang around the world.
The good news? Retail traders are back in force trading currencies in 2014.
The even better news? Its not just about momentarily heightened volatility.
LeapRate’s Retail FX Volume Index, a monthly measure of trading volumes globally in the retail forex sector, soared by 16.5% in January to hit $322 billion daily — the Index’s second highest total ever, second only to June 2013’s $329 billion.
January saw best or near-best forex trading volume metrics reported by retail brokers Gain Capital and EXNESS, as well as institutional brokers FXall and KCG Hotspot.
Gerald Segal, LeapRate Managing Director, commented “Forex brokers have to be thrilled with the start to the 2014 year. In the past we’ve seen bursts of retail trading activity when volatility spikes. But this was different. Volatility remained basically in the same range as the second half of 2013, but retail traders came back in droves after sitting on their hands much of the fall season.”
“We’ll see how the rest of the year progresses, but we’re hopeful that January’s volume growth represents mainly a growing industry.”
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Sources: LeapRate research, monthly and quarterly volume reports of various Forex ECNs and Forex brokerage firms.
The LeapRate Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, is a monthly measure of activity, stated in billions of dollars per day. It is calculated using proprietary formulas developed by LeapRate. The data input into the model are based on examining monthly and/or quarterly activity levels put out by various retail FX brokerage firms; similar activity levels announced by other FX aggregators such as Forex ECNs (e.g. Thomson Reuters, FXall, ICAP-EBS, KCG Hotspot) and FX settlement firms (e.g. CLS Group); as well as anecdotal evidence we encounter as part of our general research activities in the Forex sector.
LeapRate is a leading research and information firm serving the global FX industry. Through its partnership with Dow Jones, LeapRate publishes the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report, a comprehensive review of the retail FX industry. Other LeapRate services include Best-of-the-Web FX Research and our daily FX Research email for traders, the Forex Yellow Pages, Forex Exec Search job listings, and our Approved List of regulated FX brokerage firms worldwide. For more information please see our website at www.leaprate.com.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.