Thomson Reuters forex volumes fall to new low

Average daily spot volumes were $92 billion in December, traditionally the month of lowest volume, compared with $104 billion in November. That is the lowest since Thomson Reuters started compiling the figures in January 2010, and together with September last year, only the second month when average daily volume has been below $100 billion.

Turnover across the world’s largest financial market fell steadily over the course of last year. Reuters reported that it comes against the background of the global investigation into alleged foreign exchange manipulation rates.

Average daily volume across Thomson Reuters dealing platforms in 2013 was $120 billion. That was down six per cent from the previous year and 20 per cent below the daily average of $150 billion in 2011.

On FXall, the electronic foreign exchange platform purchased by Thomson Reuters last year, average daily volumes fell seven per cent in December from a month earlier to $111 billion.

Volumes on FXall have steadily risen in the three years since data has been tracked. The daily average in 2013 was $108 billion, up 30 per cent from $83 billion in 2011.

Postscript: On 13 January Reuters corrected the original story on which this version was based, to increase the figure in the penultimate paragraph for average daily volumes on FXall to $111 billion from $100 billion. ■