LeapRate Retail FX Volume Index retreats 5% in March

FX trading volumes still strong in March, but take a bit of a breather after a rapid start to the year.

LeapRate’s Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, fell back somewhat to $196 billion per day in March, down 5% from February’s record $206 billion. The drop was not unexpected, following a very hot start to the 2013 year in January and February as volatility returned to the currency markets.

LeapRate’s Retail FX Volume Index is a monthly measure of global trading activity in the retail FX sector.

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Sources: LeapRate research, monthly and quarterly volume reports of various Forex ECNs and Forex brokerage firms.

Gerald Segal, LeapRate Managing Director commented, “Although March volumes were not as strong as in January and February, a general “risk-on” environment in trading markets since the beginning of the year — as well as a reawakening of retail investors in Japan — has created much better conditions for retail FX brokers this year.”

“And so far, looking forward, it seems as if April will be another banner month for retail FX brokers. We recently reported that the days during and immediately after the gold price crash mid-month were among the best-ever for retail FX 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, Hotspot FX) 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.

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