Traders Blame ‘Insane’ Tech Advancements for Quiet FX Markets

Advancements in electronic trading may be crushing volatility in the currency market, making prolonged wild swings a thing of the past.

That’s the view of some of the participants at an annual industry shindig in Barcelona this week, where the impact of growing automation and algorithmic trading were the hot topics. Some warned that the lack of dramatic action creates the risk that market makers may exit as it becomes harder to generate profits.

The comments come as volatility in the $7.5 trillion-a-day foreign-exchange market has dwindled to near the lowest in a year, making the turbulence around April’s US ...