LSE starts offering exchange-traded currencies

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has become the first European bourse to offer currency-based exchange-traded commodities (ETCs).
By None

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has become the first European bourse to offer currency-based exchange-traded commodities (ETCs).

ETF Securities, an issuer of exchange-traded commodities, admitted 18 currency ETCs to the LSE’s main market, offering long and short passive exposure to G10 currencies versus the US dollar.

Currency ETCs would typically be used by both retail and institutional investors looking to gain a low-cost, simple, exchange-listed exposure to a currency that is tradable throughout the day, or for hedging the currency risk of a portfolio.

“We aim to offer investors access to a wide range of investment opportunities while retaining the benefits of simplicity, transparency and central counterparty security that are integral to trading on-exchange. As such we are delighted to continue leading the diversification of Europe’s exchange traded product offering by welcoming ETF Securities’ new products today,” said Pietro Poletto, head of ETFs and ETCs for London Stock Exchange group, in a statement.

According to the LSE, October 2009 saw record levels of trading in exchange-traded funds, exchange traded notes and ETCs across the Group’s markets, with number of trades up 76% to 382,000, and value traded up 34% to £9.9 billion compared with the same period last year.

«