Foreign exchange trading volumes dropped in December across Integral’s trading platforms as many traders were away on annual leave and currency markets saw a relatively quiet period. December volumes outpaced those of last year, though turnover is still down month-over-month.
Integral said that the average daily volumes (ADV) across its platforms totaled $44.6 billion in December 2021, which was the lowest reading since August. The figure dropped 12 percent over a monthly timeframe, compared to $50.6 billion in November.
Additionally, December volumes were above those reached in the same month a year ago. Specifically, the latest figures reflect a 17 percent increase when weighed against the metrics of December 2020.
Reported ADV represents volumes traded across the group’s entire liquidity network, including TrueFXTM and Integral OCXTM.
The traditional subsided volatility across financial markets led to a dip in trading activity on major institutional FX venues, industry data shows.
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Trading desks at some of the largest players in the foreign exchange market were also grappling with thin volumes. The trend of weaker turnover was observed in the monthly figures from FXSpotStream and PrimeXM.
Integral’s Open Currency Exchange (OCX) brings a wide spectrum of FX market participants into a single integrated network of liquidity, where they can trade with each other. Clients of the OCX pay a monthly fee for access to the exchange, instead of per-trade fees. While it initially launched with a monthly subscription cost of $275, it was soon lowered to accommodate the trading volume of each user, rather than imposing an even charge to clients of all sizes.
Since the deployment of the platform in 2015, the Silicon Valley-based company has been working on several enhancements to bring major changes for existing clients that use the OCX, and attract new customers.
In October, Integral announced a partnership with FXCM’s institutional arm to launch a centrally cleared platform for contracts for difference (CFDs). The initiative enables investors in the wholesale markets to benefit from significantly reduced risks in the settlement of CFDs transactions.
