Moscow Exchange introduces opening auction on FX Market

On 6 December 2021, Moscow Exchange introduced new instruments and services for FX Market participants.

Trading on the FX Market now starts with an opening auction for all spot instruments from 6:50 am to 7:00 am Moscow time. The auction mechanism reduces the risk of significant fluctuations in the morning hours and increases the efficiency of market pricing. In the first days of trading with the auction mechanism, more than 20 banks and brokerage companies generated primary liquidity.

MOEX’s FX Market is open for 17 hours a day, from 6:50 am to 11:50 pm Moscow time. Since the launch of morning trading, FX spot transactions have averaged around 10% of total FX trading volumes.

The Exchange previously implemented an opening auction on the Equity Market. The opening auction mechanism supports more representative opening prices and reduces the risk of artificially inflating or undervaluing market prices.

From 6 December, the range of benchmark matching services calculated by Moscow Exchange has also been expanded. The Exchange has launched a new tool that calculates trades with a premium or discount to the weighted average USD/RUB FX rate as of 11:30 am Moscow time. This allows market participants to execute trades at a price as close as possible to the official USD exchange rate set by the Bank of Russia. The tool is designed for banks and brokers, as well as their corporate clients.