Rise of the Machines: Algorithmic Trading in the Foreign Exchange Market

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Finance
Year: 2014
Volume: 69
Issue: 5
Pages: 2045-2084

Authors (4)

ALAIN P. CHABOUD (not in RePEc) BENJAMIN CHIQUOINE (not in RePEc) ERIK HJALMARSSON (Göteborgs Universitet) CLARA VEGA (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

type="main"> <title type="main">ABSTRACT</title> <p>We study the impact of algorithmic trading (AT) in the foreign exchange market using a long time series of high-frequency data that identify computer-generated trading activity. We find that AT causes an improvement in two measures of price efficiency: the frequency of triangular arbitrage opportunities and the autocorrelation of high-frequency returns. We show that the reduction in arbitrage opportunities is associated primarily with computers taking liquidity. This result is consistent with the view that AT improves informational efficiency by speeding up price discovery, but that it may also impose higher adverse selection costs on slower traders. In contrast, the reduction in the autocorrelation of returns owes more to the algorithmic provision of liquidity. We also find evidence consistent with the strategies of algorithmic traders being highly correlated. This correlation, however, does not appear to cause a degradation in market quality, at least not on average.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:jfinan:v:69:y:2014:i:5:p:2045-2084
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-02-02