Tokyo Financial Exchange FX Trading Starts 2014 on Solid Footing

The Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) is the first venue reporting volume figures for the new year. During January, total Click 365 exchange traded FX volumes rose 14.3% from December to 3,197,526 contracts, with a daily average of 145,343. On a year-over-year basis though, January’s volume was 52.6% below 2013’s activity. January 2013 marked one of the TFX’s best months last year, with volumes moving steadily lower after peaking in April. As a result, in addition to showing solid month-over-month growth, January’s figures were also the highest since August 2013, showing renewed interest in the FX exchange traded Click 365 product.

In terms of individual contracts, USDJPY trading was the most active, composing nearly 38% of all Click 365 volumes at the TFX. The second most active pair was the AUDJPY, which has reestablished itself as a regional favorite for speculating on. Among other individual pairs, trading in the EURJPY continues to decline as volume composed only 11.4% of total TFX activity, this compares to last year’s peak of 34.9% in February 2013.

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Looking ahead, it remains to be seen whether the TFX volume growth is indicative of overall increases in global FX trading activity to start the year, or Japan-specific due to yen speculation taking place. Speaking with brokers during January, firms related to Forex Magnates that January activity was on pace to best December, but few trading desks regarded it to be a robust month.