A major new exchange has been launched in London, highlighting the city’s position as the world’s leading hub for foreign currency trading.
CME Group, one of the largest exchange companies in the world, on Sunday April 27 launched CME Europe, a new London-based exchange that will offer currency and commodity futures and derivatives products.
The new market will give CME Group – which owns the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) – greater access to the UK’s foreign exchange market, which is the largest in the world.
According to the Bank of England, around $2,547 billion is traded every day in the UK – more than in Tokyo and New York combined. This represents almost half of the $5.3 trillion global foreign exchange market (Bank for International Settlements: Triennial Central Bank Survey, April 2013).
The new exchange will create more competition and new trading opportunities for investors, and will also allow CME Group to expand into new markets in Europe, Middle East and Asia. The company hopes to expand the exchange in time to offer commodity products in the biofuels, agriculture, energy, freight and metals sectors.
