FX trading volumes continue to surge in 2013, led by Japan, as a global "risk-on" trade environment continues. LeapRate's Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, moved up another 2% in February following an rise 18% in January, to $206 billion per day. February's index figure was the highest ever, setting an all-time record. The increase also…
Read moreVolatility and activist central banks have attracted institutions to FX trading in 2013. Business news outlet CNBC ran an interesting piece, on why mainstream institutional traders are taking up active currency trading in 2013. It seems as though the increased volatility which has brought back retail traders to FX trading -- with January being one…
Read moreChanges within the Alpari Group are bearing fruit. Alpari Russia has reported that Jaunary FX trading volumes came in at a record $110 billion, which the company attributed to "a well-thought-out marketing strategy, ... new technological solutions ... and a favorable situation in the market." Based on the figures reported, we estimate that Alpari has…
Read moreFX Volumes make a big comeback in January, led by Japan, as a global "risk-on" trade brings back volatility. LeapRate's Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, spiked up 18% in January from December levels to $201 billion per day. January's index figure was the highest we've seen since August 2011, and represented one of the busiest…
Read moreFXCM's January volumes total $479 billion, one of its best months ever. Well, now it looks official -- January was a great month in retail FX all around. Leading retail FX firm FXCM, the world's largest online FX broker, announced its January trading activity levels, with retail volumes up 22% from last January, coming in at…
Read moreICAP EBS volumes soar 22%; CME Group's FX futures volumes up 21%. Two leading FX aggregators, ICAP's EBS division (spot FX ECN) and the CME Group (FX futures), reported very healthy January trading volumes. CME Group's FX futures volumes were up by 21% over last January (but just 9% over a surprisingly strong December) to average…
Read moreHowever volume decrease was less than usual "December effect" drop. LeapRate's Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, was down 5% in December to $170 billion per day. However December volumes are usually significantly slower -- down typically 15-20% from a regular month -- due to the annual holiday season, so the 5% drop makes December 2012…
Read moreRetail volumes continue to fall, but institutional volumes strong After a two-day delay due to Hurricane Sandy, Gain Capital (Forex.com) announced its Q3 results after markets closed yesterday, showing an overall profit (albeit a small one) of $3.6 million on revenues of $40 million for the quarter. Both numbers were well below Q3 figures last…
Read moreLow Volatility + Vacation = Slow Summer for FX trading. LeapRate's Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, fell by 5% in August to $167 billion per day from $175 billion in July. Note that July's figures were off 10.5% from $196 billion daily in June. August's figures represented the slowest month for FX trading in 2012…
Read moreFirst-of-its-kind measure of retail FX volumes globally.
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