diff --git a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
index 994e1c3a4..2d811e8e8 100644
--- a/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
+++ b/freqtrade/exchange/exchange.py
@@ -168,6 +168,9 @@ class Exchange(object):
     @property
     def markets(self) -> Dict:
         """exchange ccxt markets"""
+        if not self._api.markets:
+            logger.warning("Markets were not loaded. Loading them now..")
+            self._load_markets()
         return self._api.markets
 
     def klines(self, pair_interval: Tuple[str, str], copy=True) -> DataFrame: