Maybe it was the fact that this year’s FX poll dinner was held at English football club Arsenal’s new stadium last week, but I wanted to tag a soccer analogy to all the news that’s emerged this week. So when I saw the turnover figures published officially for the first time this week by nascent platform FXMarketSpace (FXMS), I couldn’t help but wonder if it was “squeaky bum” time for the management at the world’s first centrally cleared global FX platform. If you didn’t know, the phrase was first uttered by Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, to describe his nerves at a crucial part of the football season.
FXMS’ volumes won’t have come as much of a surprise to readers of the weeklyFiX; as I pointed out a couple of weeks ago they are readily available on Reuters. Anyway, despite the company gloss, the numbers look pretty dire. FXMS’s average daily volume in April was a paltry $331 million. Both the CME and Reuters, FXMS’ parents, have said they are committed to the platform for the long term. However, while it is still far too early to be certain whether or not the venture will prove successful, the early results must be disappointing.