CME Hits New FX Volume Peaks

CME Group says it has hit a new single-day volume record in its FX futures, as well as in its FX Link spread trading tool – the records came on 12 June in the wake of a surprise US CPI print, the FOMC decision and the ongoing fallout from French president Macron’s surprise call for a general election.

CME says FX futures volume was 3.26 million contracts, which is equivalent to $314 billion notional, bearing the previous record set on 8 March 2023 of 3.15 million contracts or $296 billion notional.

CME’s anonymous, all-to-all spot-futures spread trading tool FX Link also reached a single-day volume record of 113,662 contracts, which amounts to $10.5 billion notional on 12 June, this represents a 37% increase over the previous record of 82,900 contracts or $7.2 billion notional, set on 16 June 2022. Year-to-date, CME says FX Link volumes are up over 52% versus the same period in 2023 – April and May in particular have been positive for the venue at $3.82 and $3.4 billion respectively, registering the second and third highest daily volume since launch, only bettered by September 2022.

“Achieving two all-time volume records on 12 June, is a significant milestone for CME Group FX products and is testament to the continued growth that we have seen in client segments, currency pairs and overall liquidity over many months,” says Paul Houston, global head of FX products, CME Group. “FX Link will play a crucial role in our new CME FX Spot+ marketplace as we prepare for client testing in the second half of 2024. The improved liquidity, tighter spreads and increasing client participation builds an even stronger foundation for delivering value to market participants in the future.”

Shuo Wu, global head of forward e-trading at Deutsche Bank, adds, “We are pleased to see the continued growth in CME Group FX futures and FX Link as complementary sources of liquidity to the OTC market and as mechanisms to help automate the trading of products like FX swaps.”

Meanwhile, Richard Condon, head of FX, commodity and emerging market institutional sales for North America at BNP Paribas, says, “Record levels of listed FX volume are a clear indication of the rapidly evolving interplay of OTC and cleared FX futures liquidity. In particular, the use case of Exchange for Related Position (EFRP) amongst institutional clients continues to resonate across hedge funds and asset managers alike. Participants point toward the benefit of pairing the familiarity, breadth and relationship pricing of bilateral OTC execution strategies with the power of a centrally cleared instrument.”