LONDON: Emerging market hard-currency debt trading volumes suffered double-digit declines in 2020 year-on-year, latest data from the Emerging Markets Trade Association (EMTA) showed on Monday.

Eurobond trading stood at $2.034 trillion in 2020 - an 11% fall on 2019, the EMTA numbers showed. However, the share of trading in sovereign hard currency-denominated bonds rose to 63%, from 57% over the same period.

Looking at individual issues, four of the most frequently traded Eurobonds in 2020 were from Mexico - including sovereign bonds maturing in 2030, 2051 and 2032 - as well as Pemex’s 2050 bonds, the most frequently traded EM corporate bond). Brazil’s 2030 issue came fifth most traded.

Local market fixed-income instruments - which accounted for 59% of all debt trading volumes in emerging markets - recorded a turnover of $3.015 trillion in 2020, a 1% decrease on 2019.