Electronic trading systems should allow banks to automatically execute orders from anywhere. The widely used EBS electronic currency trading platform is working as normal, said owner ICAP.

EBS is the largest voice and electronic interdealer broker for the global foreign exchange market and said its global operations group is providing additional backup.

Geoffrey Yu, a strategist at UBS, told Dow Jones: "Global banks are well prepared for such eventualities and even if traders can't get in to New York, orders can be processed electronically, so the impact on markets will likely be limited."

has reported, however, that New York based exchanges Nasdaq and NYSE have been forced to shut completely for the day. It is the first time in 27 years that the stock markets have closed for a full day due to adverse weather.