Thomson Reuters matching volumes dip again

Along with another major currency trading host, EBS, the share of Thomson Reuters’ Matching service in the world’s biggest market has fallen in the face of competition from players such as Hotspot FX and commodities-dominated exchange CME.

Average volumes on EBS rose six per cent on the month in March to $88.4 billion, but were also down 27 per cent on a year earlier.

The drop in volumes on Thomson Reuters Matching has come at a time when activity on the company’s electronic platform for buy side customers, FXAll, is sharply higher. Daily volumes there rose by another $10 billion to $132 billion in March, up from $110 billion a year earlier.

This year’s big trend among the major currencies has been a surge in trading in China’s yuan, prompted by Beijing’s efforts over the past month to halt the currency’s steady rise, creating more market volatility and hence volumes. ■