- 55.2% euro trades were call options in Q4 of 2013
- European traders less optimistic than international counterparts
In the last quarter of 2013, 55.2% trades opened on Banc De Binary’s trading platform for the EUR/USD currency pair were call (up) options, against 44.8% put (down) trades for the same asset.
The statistics reveal a bullish trend among investors worldwide and a positive market sentiment surrounding the 17-nation currency. Despite the US economy also faring well, the currency pair which pits the world’s two biggest economies against each other increased in value in the last months of 2013.
However, European investors are less optimistic about the currency’s future than their international counterparts. In the last 3 months of 2013, 52.6% of EUR/USD trades placed on Banc De Binary’s platform by customers from EU countries were call options. In contrast, 57.5% of EUR/USD trades placed by non-EU customers were call options.
CEO of Banc De Binary, Oren Laurent, explains the figures, “2013 was a turning point economically for the Eurozone. At the start of the year the outlook was dire as several countries required a bailout and there was talk of abandoning the common currency.
“In the latter part of 2013, we’ve seen cause for optimism. The currency gained when the current-account surplus increased to 21.8 billion euros in October, the highest level since 1997. Spain escaped a two year recession, having survived painful spending cuts to bring down its soaring public deficit, and in December, Ireland made history when it became the very first bailed-out Eurozone country to officially exit its financial rescue programme.”
Laurent cautioned however that it is important to keep perspective, “The region is certainly no longer suffering an acute crisis but the markets have not returned to pre-recession levels, and the recovery is slow. The public uncertainty surrounding future growth prospects is evidenced by the cautious attitude of European investors.”
Banc De Binary, which itself has a European license and operates from its headquarters in Cyprus, has seen that its EU customers tend to be slightly more skeptical about a full recovery.
Oren Laurent says, “Those in Europe, who have personally experienced and continue to witness austerity measures, high unemployment and economic hardship, may carry a small bias over into their trading decisions.”
