Volumes on Thomson Reuters outpaced those of its main rival in February, though volumes on both platforms are still down year-on-year as the lack of clear direction in currency markets continues to affect daily trading activity. The average daily volume of spot FX traded over EBS, the electronic interdealer broker owned by ICAP, rose 9% month-on-month to $126.7 billion in February, equating to a 9% fall year-on-year.
Meanwhile, average daily volume of FX spot on all Thomson Reuters trading platforms rose to $136 billion in February, a 7% increase over the previous month, but 5% lower than the previous year.
Volumes on Thomson Reuters have been higher than on EBS since November 2011, having lagged slightly behind its main rival for the majority of 2011.
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| Source: EuromoneyFXNews |
This can be explained by the relative importance of currencies on the different platforms. ICAP has said trading volumes in EUR, JPY and CHF – a large portion of which is typically done via EBS – have been particularly impacted in recent months. This has come from uncertainty surrounding the eurozone, as well as subdued volatility as a result of central bank action.
While risk aversion has affected trading activity in most main currency pairs, volumes in so-called commonwealth currencies such as GBP, AUD, NZD and CAD – currencies where Thomson Reuters has traditionally been stronger – have been relatively robust.
Separately, CLS Group, the multi-currency cash settlement system, settled an average daily value of $4.58 trillion during February, up 9% from those recorded the previous month. The average daily volume of trades submitted to CLS for settlement was also up 11% to 724,132.