CME FX Posts 32.2% Growth in June Volumes, Goldman Sachs Hires New FX Exec

As more forex brokers and trading platforms announce their June trading volumes, it is apparent that things are looking up after riding a rough patch in April and May. One of the firms that did well in June is CME FX, which recorded a growth of 32.2 percent in total FX volumes of futures to 14.91 million contracts, up from May’s 11.28 million contracts.

Nonetheless, the figures are still weaker than the volumes recorded last year, with last month’s transactions estimated at 35.1 percent lower than the volumes posted in June 2013. In June, FX options recorded some noticeable improvement on an annual basis, declining 11.3 percent in contrast to 2013.

However, the 1.14 million contracts that were transacted in June were a 4.2 percent growth from May. The overall combined options and futures were on average around 765,000 contracts on a daily basis notionally valued at $93 billion.

All major currencies recorded an upsurge in trading activity, with the British pound outperforming its major counterparts. The U.K. currency recorded a 60 percent increase in trading volumes in June, with the GBP/USD which surged to multi-year highs, surpassing the 1.70 level last seen in 2008.

In a separate report, Goldman Sachs Group hired Nell Hutton as the head of fixed income, currency and commodity sales in Australia and New Zealand as the company seeks to grow its income in the antipodes.

Mrs Hutton has worked at Goldman for more than 15 years, and was recently a Managing Director, a post she held since 2007. Mrs. Hutton will report to Simon Rothery, the Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs Australian business and to James Houghton, the head of fixed income, currency and commodities sales for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan