According to trading data which has been exclusively shared with Finance Magnates by 24option, the Brexit vote is affecting activity of binary options traders. The trading volumes at one of the biggest binary options in the industry show that while the numbers in the GBP/USD pair have shown consistency, EUR/GBP trading declined materially.
Looking at the specifics, binary options trading in the EUR/GBP pair has fallen by 16 per cent leading into the referendum. The total amount of trades executed by 24option clients in the EUR/GBP pair amounted to $8.17 million in April and declined to $6.89 million in May.
The figure is a break in a trend of rapidly increasing numbers, with the previous 5 months constituting a rise totaling over 50 per cent.
Looking at the trading volumes in the GBP/USD pair, the drop has been negligible. GBP/USD trading has increased from $8.17 million in January to about $17.15 million in April. A tiny decline of 0.12 per cent was marked throughout May breaking the consecutive growth cycle but plateauing at consistent levels.
24option GBP/USD and EUR/GBP trading volumes, Source: 24option
According to 24option, the figures are a testament to the uncertainty over the result of the coming referendum in the UK tomorrow. Increased Volatility of the British pound has affected traders and their appetite for risk in these particular pairs.
With the markets likely to be extremely volatile in the aftermath of the vote tomorrow, 24option and other binary options brokerages are expecting a lot of volatility.
Commenting to Finance Magnates, Kristina Boudylina from 24option said: “Increased volatility as a result of Brexit speculation has caused traders to move away from EUR/GBP and opt for perceived safer options such as GBP/USD, which have shown more stability in recent weeks.”
“As the volatility of the pound increases in anticipation of the Brexit vote, traders that can take technical indicators into account and analyze any potential patterns in the British pound’s movement, will be in a good position to take advantage of any short term movements,” she elaborated.
