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US forex broker Forex Capital Markets, or FXCM, reported on Monday its retail trading volume dropped in the second quarter of 2016, both from a quarter earlier and over the year, while volume from institutional clients posted a growth. Retail volume stood at $842 billion, which is 16% lower than a year earlier and 10% below the previous quarter’s value. Volume from institutional trading was $182 billion, or 70% higher year-on-year and 6% more than in the first quarter.
In June alone, the broker’s retail trading volume dropped by 24% on the year to $275 billion in June 2016, while its trading volume from institutional clients grew by an annual 58% to $57 billion. Compared to a month earlier, the retail volume slightly went down by 2% and institutional volume jumped by 14 %.
Average daily trading volumes followed the same logic. June daily volumes amounted to an average $12.5 billion in the retail segment, posting a drop of 24% on the year and 2% over the month. In the institutional segment the volume was $2.6 billion per day, which is 53% higher than in the same month in 2015 and 13% more than in May.
While June trading volumes in the institutional sector were higher than in the previous month, the average number of client trades was higher in the retail segment. Retail client trades averaged 585,295 per day in June, or 4% higher on the year and 6% over the month. Average institutional client trades were 165% higher over the year to 35,654 per day, posting, however, a monthly drop of 23%.
FXCM also posted data about retail client accounts. Active trading accounts continue to grow, reaching 178,444 at end-June, which is up by 1% on the year and 0.3% from a month earlier. Tradable accounts, or those with enough funds in them to place a trade, numbered 171,507 last month, posting an annual decline of 9% and a monthly increase of 0.4%.
FXCM’s main competitor, Gain Capital, saw its June retail trading volume at $231.7 billion, which represents a drop of 43.7% on the year, yet an increase of 3.7% from the previous month. In the institutional segment, the broker’s trading volume amounted to $212.3 billion, posting a double-digit growth both over the year and month-on-month of 17.9% and 40.1%, respectively.
FXCM is a registered futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) with the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It has units registered and regulated with the relevant authorities in the US, the UK, Australia, and France. The broker offers forex, contracts for difference (CFDs), and spread betting services.
Source: FXCM
