Although trading days that typically see the lowest volume are clustered around the end of the year, Exness reported that total monthly trading volumes were in excess of $1.24 trillion in December.
However, this solid figure was slightly lower from the $1.27 trillion exchanged hands in November 2021. Across a yearly interval, the metric of December 2021 had nearly doubled from $674 billion a year earlier.
Exness’ trading volumes hit record levels over the last few months, building on the record-breaking turnover streak from the beginning of the fourth quarter. That has been aided by the economic impact from the Covid-19 developments and inflation concerns that apparently sent investors hunting for FX instruments to limit their risk exposure.
The momentum points to a fundamentally strong market looking ahead. The retail segment, which typically accounts for Exness’ majority of trading volume, continued to lead the way.
Exness’ active client base also took a step back in December, coming off record levels hit in the previous month. The company reported the number of active clients at nearly 237,300, up 63 percent from 145,400 in the same month a year earlier. On a month-over-month basis, the number of active clients was down 4 percent from a record 246,500 in November.
Exness volumes average $1 trillion
Exness got off to a strong start as the financial markets started off the fourth quarter in high gear, with a multitude of factors helping steer volumes across several venues.
The average trading volume in 2021 was $820 billion, but the metric has jumped in the last four months to cross the $1 trillion milestone for the first time in the group’s 13-year history.
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.
