GAIN Capital’s Retail OTC Volumes Plunge in February

GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCAP) has just disclosed its trading volumes for the month ending February 2016, having erased what had been a robust month in January, according to a GAIN statement.

To recap, in January 2016 GAIN Capital orchestrated a sizable growth across its retail over-the-counter (OTC) average daily volume, which reached $15.9 billion, which was good for a strong 23.5% boost MoM over December 2015.

However, the narrative was inverted in February 2016, as GAIN’s retail OTC average daily volume came in at only $13.2 billion, falling -17.0% MoM from January 2016. In addition, total retail OTC volumes yielded $276.3 billion in February 2016, down -31.3% MoM from $318.6 billion in January 2016. Across a yearly timeframe though, February 2015 showed a more upbeat picture, mounting a healthy 13.1% YoY growth from $244.4 billion in February 2015.

Meanwhile, GAIN’s active retail OTC accounts were numbered at 143,673 in February 2016, incurring a marginal decline of less than -1.0% MoM from 143,766 in January 2016. Finally, GAIN saw average daily contracts in its futures business standing at 36,993 for February 2016, down -13.5% MoM from January 2016. This downtrend was also reflected in its futures contracts, which retreated to 739,859 in February 2016, down -8.9% MoM from January 2015.

Institutional Business Sees MoM Decline

In terms of its institutional metrics, GAIN’s ECN volume yielded $174.0 billion in February 2016, a decrease of -7.7% MoM from $188.5 billion in January 2016 – conversely, this figure was offset by a 33.1% YoY rise from February 2015.

Moreover, the average daily ECN volume at GAIN came in at $8.3 billion during February 2015, falling -11.7% MoM from $9.4 billion in January 2016, but increasing 25.0% YoY from February 2015. Swap dealer average daily volume also was reported at $3.0 billion, jumping 4.5% MoM from $2.9 billion in January 2016.