New York-headquartered provider of settlement and aggregation services for the forex industry CLS has reported an increase of 9.2% year-over-year (YoY) in average daily traded foreign exchange volumes (ADVs) in January 2024, reaching $2.09 trillion compared to $1.92 trillion in January 2023.

CLS Sees 9.2% Increase in January Traded Volumes

The increase was driven by significant growth across all major FX instruments. FX forwards saw the largest jump, with average daily volumes rising 47.9% YoY to $204 billion. FX swaps were up 5.9% to $1.39 trillion, while FX spots grew 6.9% to $498 billion.

"In January 2024, we saw average daily traded volumes of USD2.09 trillion, an increase of 9.2% compared to January 2023," said Lisa Danino-Lewis, the Chief Growth Officer at CLS.

The growth in volumes reflects the ongoing recovery in the global economy and increased currency trading activity among financial institutions like investment banks and hedge funds that use CLS to settle their foreign exchange transactions.

"Over the same period, we saw an increase in overall volumes across all instruments. FX forward volumes were up significantly by 47.9%, while FX spot and FX swap volumes were up by 6.9% and 5.9%, respectively,” added Danino-Lewis.

CLS facilitates the settlement of FX trades in 18 major currencies, processing over $6 trillion in payments every day. The recent uptick in volumes indicates positive momentum for CLS and global currency markets as we head deeper into 2024.

Eurex also reported strong results in January, with volumes growing 6% compared to the previous year. However, overall reports from firms involved in spot FX trading told a tale of two different continents. While volumes increased in Europe, they depreciated in Asia.

CLS Enlists BNY Mellon, ING to Enhance FX Transaction Handling

Finance Magnates reported in mid-January, that BNY Mellon and ING have entered into a partnership with the financial market infrastructure firm CLS. These banking behemoths have enrolled in CLSNet, a service dedicated to the netting calculation of bilateral payments across more than 120 currencies.

BNY Mellon, recognized as the world's leading custodian bank with assets surpassing $41.1 trillion, alongside ING, the foremost bank in the Netherlands boasting assets over €951 billion, have become the newest additions to the expanding CLSNet community. This service now boasts membership from eight of the world's major banks.