LSE Chief defends high frequency traders - FT

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - High-frequency traders have gained the backing of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) (LSE.L) despite the concerns of US regulators over their ability to influence markets, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet welcomed the traders' role in providing a necessary function for exchanges.

"They are a source of liquidity, and we do not rank any particular source of liquidity higher than any other. You need diversity in the types of liquidity," said Rolet to the FT.

Rolet also revealed that high frequency trading made up roughly a third of all trades on the LSE.

High frequency traders use fast electronic trades to arbitrage tiny pricing differences, and have recently been subject to regulatory scrutiny in the US, said the FT.

(Reporting by Willian James, Editing by Diane Craft) (william.james@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 3374))