The first batch of volumes from Japanese brokerages are out and GMO Click is the first to report. The company states that a total of $678 billion (¥69.46 trillion) have shaken hands on its OTC FX platform FX Neo. The number of total accounts have risen modestly by about 1% to 333,944.
While the figure is lower by 5% on last month’s number, the first quarter in 2014 is looking much better when compared to the final three months of last year. The average monthly numbers during the quarter are higher by about 23%, which can well be explained by returning volatility to the foreign exchange market.
The exchange traded Click365 FX has risen by almost 4% to $3.5 billion (¥370,774 billion) during the month.
Overall the first quarter doesn’t have the promising start we had for Japanese brokerages in 2013, however it certainly looks better than the final quarter of last year. With the Japanese sales tax hike taking place yesterday we can foresee some challenges arising for Abenomics and the Bank of Japan will certainly act to stem the flow. As industry participants have noticed, the bout of FX volatility that ensued in the beginning of last year was strongly supported by the record easing policies adopted by Japanese monetary policymakers.
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