Oanda is the latest broker to offer new FX products after the introduction of the USD/BRL at Saxo and the Dow Jones FXCM Dollar index. Demand for emerging currencies from retail traders tends to peak during times of uncertainty which we have seen a lot of in 2011. Traders want to take advantage of volatility generated during uncertain times or earn interest using the carry trade strategy. While Oanda is not the first broker to offer traders access to these pairs, traders at Oanda will be able to take advantage of Oanda’s unique second by second rollover interest policy. An attractive feature of exotics: rollover paid out tends to be higher in exotic currencies.
Oanda’s local office in Singapore and the appreciation of the SGD during the past year has fueled the demand for the SGD pairs. It remains to be seen if Oanda will introduce currency pairs from the Middle East, given their presence in Dubai and the volatility in the region. Oanda currently offers the USD/CNY and the USD/INR which it most likely hedges through NDF’s. I think it is likely that Oanda will also introduce pairs such as BRL and RUB. Without mentioning any specifics, Paul Jeszensky, head of marketing at Oanda, commented, “It is likely there will be more currency pairs coming soon for traders on the Oanda platform.”
All in all, this is certainly a good move by Oanda given the political and economic climate of the world and I expect to see similar announcements from other major brokers this year.
OANDA Corporation, provider of innovative online foreign exchange trading, has added seven more currency cross pairs to its online Forex Trading Platform , OANDA fxTrade. The new pairs are CAD/SGD, EUR/SGD, EUR/ZAR, GBP/SGD, GBP/PLN, NZD/SGD, and SGD/JPY.
OANDA's rapidly expanding client base in Singapore, already accustomed to OANDA's low spreads, asked for more crosses to the Singapore Dollar (SGD). "We were happy to comply," said Michael Stumm, CEO of OANDA Corporation. "Based on our experience with the rapid uptake of the new pairs we introduced last year, we expect a significantly higher volume of trades. As demand grows we will continue to add more pairs."
The new pairs also include a euro cross to the South African Rand (ZAR), extending the number of available crosses to this important carry trade currency. Carry traders take advantage of interest rate differentials even during same-day trading at OANDA, which is the only forex dealer to offer second-by-second interest.
