Thomson Reuters forex volumes rise 13% from month earlier

Company data also showed average spot daily volumes in March rose to $132 billion from $114 billion in February, slightly lower than that in January when volumes rose to $135 billion.

January was a turbulent month for the $5-trillion-a-day global currency market. The Swiss National Bank shocked the market on 15 January by scrapping its franc cap against the euro, pushing up volumes and volatility.

The rise in volumes on the Thomson Reuters platform mirrored a similar rise on the rival EBS platform, owned by the world's largest inter-dealer broker ICAP.

Trading on EBS - the main venue for banks and other major institutions to trade the euro, yen and Swiss franc against the dollar - rose back above $100 billion a day in March, up 22 per cent from February and 30 per cent from a year ago.

The rise in currency volumes in March was mainly on the back of a drop in the euro, which fell to 12-year lows against the dollar, as the European Central Bank embarked on a trillion euro asset purchase programme. ■