With a last name like Ninja, I decided long ago to specialize in espionage. And with my first name being Forex, you guessed it, my other pasison was, well, anything and everything forex. Naturally, I decided to combine my two loves into one, "spying" on the forex industry (and telling you about my findings on this blog, Espipionage). This blog is dedicated to giving traders the inside scoop on developments in the forex industry, such as changing broker regulations and new forex products and companies. I also profile existing companies that are making an impact in the forex world all for your benefit. Set your night vision goggles ON. It's Spy Time!
Extra, extra! Read all about it! Two forex brokers reported stellar growth in their respective retail trading volumes for January.
FXCM
The first one is one of the more renowned brokers in the forex hood, FXCM.
(Source: FXCM)
Statistics released by the broker shows that both its retail and institutional arms saw positive growth in January. Trading volume by its retail customers grew by over 40% to $363 billion from a month earlier, while its institutional volume rose to $116 billion from $80 billion.
This is definitely good news! Remember that in December 2012, only the broker's institutional arm posted growth while its retail trading volume was down from November.
Another noteworthy uptick was in the average daily trading volume by its retail customers. The 22.22% rise to 16.5 billion for the month translates to the second highest retail average volume since the broker entered the business!
According to FXCM, the company's efforts in expanding and improving its services have simply been paying off. Over the past couple of years, the broker has set up its second office in Hong Kong, expanded its institutional influence by acquiring Lucid Markets, launched multiple mobile trading applications, and developed its trading platform for its users.
GMO Click Securities
Although this Japanese online financial services company is relatively new in the forex scene, GMO Click Securities is definitely no small fish. In fact, data from forex website Forex Magnates shows that the company displaced big dawg FXCM as the world's largest forex broker by retail volume in Q2 2012!
The weakening of the yen in January proved to be a boon for this Japanese financial services provider as Japanese investors took on more trades. The company reported a record trading volume of $77.8 billion, a ridiculous 101% increase from its $385.2 billion volume in December 2012. And get this - it's also the highest volume ever reported by a retail forex broker!
Though only two forex-related companies were mentioned above, the reports are definitely breaths of fresh air against the falling retail forex trading volumes that we saw in late 2012.
But are we seeing isolated cases or is it the start of a new trend for retail forex? Do you think that the other forex players did better in January? Is volatility and volume back for 2013? If so, will we see spreads tighten up once again, improved execution and more trading opportunities?
Related Posts:
- FXCM June Metrics Are Out! 20:42 17 July 2012
- FXCM's Trading Volumes Are Down! Is Everything Okay? 04:26 24 October 2012
- FXCM Trading Metrics for November 2012 00:00 19 December 2012
- FXCM's Forex Trading Metrics for November 01:46 21 December 2011
- Trading Activity in FXCM and IG Group Continue to Fall 00:05 23 January 2013
