Exness trading volumes rebound as Covid-19 speculation returns
FX trading volumes are climbing again as economic uncertainty spurred by uncomfortably high inflation and constrained supply chains encouraged speculators to pile back into the market.
The latest group of retail FX platforms to report their monthly volumes indicate that September was a busier month all round, with Exness setting its second-highest monthly volumes on record.
Total trading volumes on the Exness’ platform ticked higher last month, helped by a rise in volatility driven by central banks’ policy announcements. Specifically, September’s figure came in at $947 billion, up 7.7 percent from $879 billion in August.
Over a yearly basis, the multi-regulated FX broker’s turnover had shot higher by 52 percent when compared with $624 reported back in September 2020.
Activity on Exness’ trading platform has been consolidating as the bull run in the third quarter created a profitable opportunity for industry players, from major venues to an array of retail-focused FX brokerages.
The company also said its active client base is now at record levels and is materially higher than it was in 2020, with levels of retention comparable to historical averages. Exness reported the number of active clients at nearly 232,000, up 64 percent from 141,600 in the same month a year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the number of active clients is also up by 3.5 percent from 225,500 in August.
The average trading volume in 2021 was $820 billion, but the metric has jumped to record levels above the $900 billion mark over the last three months due to frenzied buying and selling activities. Trading has been driven by investor fears that despite the new vaccines, coronavirus will continue to put a damper on the world economy.
The uptick in volumes also comes as Exness, which is authorised by the FCA as an IFPRU €730K firm, continues to restructure its business.
Exness acquired its FCA license in the UK back in 2016 to operate a foreign exchange and CFDs brokerage business. After one year, the broker launched an institutional offering, which is focused on providing liquidity for FX, CFDs, metals, and commodities. In light of an internal business decision to focus on other markets and grow their B2B operations, Exness decided in 2019 to close the retail business in the EU/EEA region, including in the UK.
At the time, Exness said that one of the reasons for the launch of its institutional business arm is the recent changes in the regulatory environment. Indeed, the retail FX market in Europe is becoming relatively challenging for many platforms, which is why many brokers are looking into new opportunities in the wholesale liquidity and clearing market.
The Financial Commission announced in July that Exness has become a newly approved member of the self-regulatory organization.
