To my inadvertent show of surprise, he returned that he had trading connections there.

However, focus is now on the June contract, which had trading volumes more than 30 times higher.

Asia is where our customers are, said spokesman Neil Burrows, adding the company already had trading staff in Singapore, Houston and elsewhere.

His common-sense conclusion is that countries that thrived after devaluation (Canada and Sweden are other examples) had trading partners that were growing strongly.

Over the first nine months of the year, the second-largest U.S. bank said it had trading profits of more than $200 million on 12 days.