FX: Rates for 21 Trade Pairs to be Fixed Every Half Hour

WM/Reuters says it is beginning to publish exchange rates on 21 pairs of currencies every half hour, to help trading firms deal with market volatility.

The benchmarks in the most widely traded pairs had been published every hour.

“Managng portfolio risk is foremost in the minds of our clients and the addition of 30-minute fixes will help mitigate this risk,” said Beverley Doherty, managing director, The WM Company.

The trading pairs, using WM titles, are: AUDUSD, USDCAD, EURCHF,EURCZK, EURDKK, EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDHKD, EURHUF, USDILS, USDJPY, USDMXN, EURNOK, NZDUSD, EURPLN, EURRON, USDRUB, EURSEK, USDSGD, USDTRY and USDZAR.

WM/Reuters is a joint-venture of The WM Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of State Street Corporation, and Thomson Reuters.

The rates published by WM/Reuters are used by financial institutions and fund managers to value investment portfolios and provide current exchange rates to clients seeking precise information.

WM/Reuters said it considers this to be the first half-hourly spot fixing of “an extensive range of currencies.’’