LONDON, NEW YORK and SYDNEY, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FOREX.com, the retail division of GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCAP), a global provider of online trading services, today released its Q1 2013 Market Outlook report. FOREX.com analysts predict that the New Year could see a large pick-up in volatility if the US goes over the fiscal cliff edge. This would have major implications for global financial markets as risk sentiment deteriorates and the US economy faces a sharp recession.

2013 is set to be the fourth year of the sovereign debt crisis for Europe and rather than moving nearer to a resolution the crisis is expected to flare up again in the coming year. Stabilization in the Eurozone is likely to be undermined by concerns about Spain's financial position. The fall-out from refinancing Spain has the potential to cause a major spike in market volatility and a drop in the euro. Political risk is also likely to increase during the first quarter of 2013 as the market prepares for a general election in Italy.

The dollar will be faced with two important events in Q1. The first is the outcome of fiscal cliff negotiations. The second event that is important for the dollar is the changing of the guard at the Federal Open Market Committee, which could see a dovish bias at the US central bank.

"If the US goes over the cliff edge then the dollar could attract safe haven flows and stocks may sell off like we saw during debt ceiling negotiations in the US in August 2011," said Kathleen Brooks, Research Director, FOREX.com.

Ms. Brooks added: "After a period of intense risk aversion we could see markets start to recover in late Q1.  From a macro perspective, the US could join the Eurozone and Japan in falling back into recession, which may ignite a global decline. Without a bold solution to the European debt crisis and a deal in Washington we cannot envisage a significant pick-up in global sentiment in the first quarter."

Expectations from the FOREX.com Q1 2013 Markets Outlook include:

• The outlook for EURUSD is bleak and we may see some sharp declines over the quarter as sovereign concerns especially in Spain start to heat up;
• There are signs Chinese growth is starting to pick up, this should fuel appreciation in the renminbi during the first quarter of 2013;  
• The AUD, CAD and NZD may remain subdued  as these commodity currencies are most sensitive to the bleak global growth outlook;
• Gold and silver could have an adventurous quarter as two opposing forces, including sluggish global growth and fresh monetary stimulus, impact the precious metals space ;
• The spread between UK and US oil could remain at elevated levels ($20-25) for the foreseeable future as long as bottlenecks in the supply of oil remain and tensions remain in the Middle East.

The FOREX.com Markets Outlook report highlights potential price ranges for key pairs, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, EUR/GBP and USD/RUB.  Major foreign equity markets; key commodities including gold, silver, oil and agriculture are also covered.

The FOREX.com Markets Outlook report is prepared by Research Director Kathleen Brooks, Senior Technical Strategists Chris Tevere, CMT, Eric Viloria, CMT, and Research Analyst Chris Tedder.

The full FOREX.com Q1 2013 Markets Outlook Report is now available at www.forex.com under "Research".

Foreign Exchange and other leveraged products involve significant risk of loss and are not suitable for all investors. Increasing leverage increases risk. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange and other leveraged products, you should carefully consider your financial objectives, level of experience and risk appetite. Spot Gold and Silver contracts are not subject to regulation under the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are not available for US residents.

GAIN Capital and its affiliates are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US; the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK; the Financial Services Agency (FSA) in Japan; the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in HK; the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC); and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in Australia

The opinions and information in this report are for general information use and are not intended as an offer or solicitation to any product offered.

About GAIN Capital

GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GCAP) is a global provider of online trading services. GAIN's innovative trading technology provides market access and highly automated trade execution services across multiple asset classes, including foreign exchange (forex or FX), contracts for difference (CFDs) and exchange-based products, to a diverse client base of retail and institutional investors.

Through our retail brand, FOREX.com, we provide retail traders around the world with access to a variety of global OTC financial markets, including forex, precious metals and CFDs on commodities and indices.  A market leader for over a decade, FOREX.com supports clients from over 140 countries and our products and services are available in multiple languages, including English, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Arabic. 

GAIN Capital also operates GTX, a fully independent FX ECN for hedge funds and institutions; Open eCry, an innovative online futures broker; and GAIN Securities, Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC) a licensed U.S. broker-dealer.

GAIN Capital and its affiliates have offices in New York City; Bedminster, New Jersey; London; Sydney; Hong Kong; Tokyo; Singapore; Beijing and Seoul.

For company information, visit www.gaincapital.com.

SOURCE GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc.