FXCM Sees Rise in Institutional Volume and Dip in Retail

US Forex Broker FXCM reported its key metrics for the month of March. A rise of 27% was seen in institutional volume from February, while a dip of 2% in retail trading volume was reported.  

The number of tradeable retail accounts rose quite marginally and fell by 12% in the institutional sector. The year over year numbers are undoubtedly great.

Q4 2011 numbers are available here. Here are more details, from the official press release:

NEW YORK, NY, April 16, 2012 –  FXCM Inc.  (NYSE: FXCM) today announced certain key operating metrics for March 2012 for its retail and institutional foreign exchange business. Monthly activities included:

March 2012

Retail Trading Metrics

·                  Retail customer trading volume⁽¹⁾  of $340 billion in March 2012, 2% lower than February 2012 and 8% higher than March 2011.    Volume from indirect sources was 46% of total retail volume⁽¹⁾  in the first quarter 2012.    Retail customer trading volume⁽¹⁾for the first quarter 2012 was $985 billion, 1% higher than the fourth quarter 2011, and 20% higher than the first quarter 2011.

·                  Average retail customer trading volume⁽¹⁾  per day of $15.5 billion in March 2012, 6% lower than February 2012 and 13% higher than March 2011.

·                  An average of 394,679 retail client trades per day in March 2012, 1% lower than February 2012 and 22% higher than March 2011.

·                  Tradeable accounts⁽²⁾  of 200,132 as of March 31, 2012, an increase of 2,366, or 1% from February 2012, and an increase of 58,419,or 41%, from March 2011.

Institutional Trading Metrics

·                  Institutional customer trading volume⁽¹⁾  of $161 billion in March 2012, 27% higher than February 2012 and 105% higher than March 2011.    Institutional customer trading volume⁽¹⁾  for the first quarter 2012 was $398 billion, 7% lower than the fourth quarter 2011 and 82% higher than the first quarter 2011.

  ·                  Average institutional trading volume⁽¹⁾  per day of $7.3 billion in March 2012, 21% higher than February 2012 and 115% higher than March 2011.

  ·                  An average of 26,060 institutional client trades per day in March 2012, 12% lower than February 2012 and 278% higher than March 2011.