Daily spot trading volumes on the biggest currency trading platforms run by Thomson Reuters and ICAP continued to fall in May, extending a downward trend seen in recent months, according to figures the companies published. Spot currency trading volume on TR platforms, the leader in Commonwealth currencies like sterling, Australia and New Zealand's dollars , totalled $94 billion, down from $97 billion in April and nearly 15 percent lower than the $110 billion seen in May last year.
ICAP said daily volumes on its electronic platform EBS, where the bulk of the trades in the dollar, the yen and the euro are carried out, was down 21 percent in May from a year ago, at $75.7 billion. Total foreign exchange trading volume across TR platforms, including forwards, swaps, options and non-deliverable forwards (NDFs), fell to $347 billion a day from $353 billion in the same month last year. On the month, total volumes were also lower.
The electronic currency-trading platforms are hoping volumes will pick up after Britain's vote on the EU on June 23. Six months after the Scottish referendum, volumes peaked at $5.4 trillion a day following the Swiss National Bank's sudden removal of its cap on the Swiss franc in January 2015, up from $4.9 trillion.