Intra-Day Market Moving News and Views
30 Jul 2014 03:49GMT
A piece of very interesting WSJ article Tue which is a food for thought to traders & the management of FX operations. Currency-trading volume is shrinking at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, the latest sign of the placid conditions that have frustrated traders in markets around the globe this year.
The amount of money changing hands daily in FX markets on average fell about 8% in Apr compared with the same period a year earlier, to $4.1 trillion, according to a survey by 6 central banks released Mon.
The drop was steepest in North America, where volumes plunged nearly 20%. The survey covered about 80% of global currency trading.
Many investors remain on the sidelines as they wait for more clarity in the Federal Reserve's timetable for raising interest rates, which is expected to cause major swings in the dollar's value against many currencies.
The Fed's policy committee may provide some direction on that after release of FOMC statements later today.
Banks and hedge funds are feeling the strain from sleepy market conditions. For the 10 largest global investment banks, trading revenue in the fixed-income, currencies n commodities (FICC) units that comprise FX trading plunged 15.7% in the first 3 months of the year fm the year-ago period.
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