Monex Group Inc has just released its trading metrics for the month ending May 2014, yielding another monthly decline in Global FX Volume to $32.8 billion, from $33.3 billion in April (-1.5% MoM), according to a Monex statement.
Unable to Reverse Monthly Decline
The Tokyo-based brokerage has been unable to reverse its fortunes in 2014, witnessing a notable decline in Global FX volume in every month since January 2014, down -38.6% YTD. The recent weak metrics highlight an issue facing the rest of the industry, i.e. waning Forex volumes corresponding to low Volatility in markets, now mounting to a -56.4% decline YoY in Global FX volume ($32.8 billion in May 2014 vs. $75.2 billion in May 2013).
In addition to Global FX volume, Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) dropped to 289,075 in May from 301,205 in April (-4.0% MoM), partly offset by the lower number of trading days in May over the prior period. The company reported 1,359 more active accounts in May with a total of 898,316 vs. 896,957 in April – furthermore, the total the number of FX OTC active accounts declined by 244 accounts to 62,295 in May from 62,539 in April.
TradeStation Focus
The TradeStation Brand, including the business line IBFX operated under Monex Group, reported 721 more active accounts in May at 84,538, relative to 83,817 in April. However, this trend also corresponded to lower DARTs per day over the same period with the total down to 150,491 in May, from 166,459 in April (-9.6% MoM).
Given the higher number of accounts, the number of total client assets at TradeStation came in at $3.6 billion in May, up $26 million from $3.574 billion in April, which is a new yearly high. For TradeStation the number of business days hasn't changed from April to May and remained at 21 trading days.
