The UK is still the leader in global currency trading despite its decision to leave the European Union two years ago.
New research from Reuters analysed central bank data released by the five biggest trading centres in the world.
The data shows that forex trading volumes in Britain increased more than New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
In Britain, forex trading volumes grew by 23% to $2.7 trillion between April 2016 and April 2018.
This growth was double the increase seen by its nearest rival, the United States, which grew 11% to $994bn.
Following this was Singapore, which decreased 5% to $523bn over the two years, then Hong Kong which jumped 10% to $482bn and Japan, where currency trading volumes grew 2% to $415bn.
In its report, Reuters said that with eight months to go until Brexit, “London has tightened rather than weakened its grip on foreign exchange trading.”
Part of the reason for this was put down to London’s time zone, which is attractively placed between the US and Asia, as well London’s advanced FX trading hardware.
Speaking to Reuters, Neil Jones from Japan’s Mizuho Bank said: “The luck of geography has helped because most of the big market moving news, whether in the U.S. or Europe, has occurred during London’s trading hours.
“You may have all the uncertainty around Brexit, but this is outweighed by London’s time zone, its language, and the advantages that come from having the biggest market.”
Read the full report here.
