Euronext published the monthly stats for February 2022. Equities trading volumes dropped -5.7% m/m, reflecting the turbulence in the markets following the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Individual equity futures saw the largest decline in the report, down -46.1%. The uncertainty following Russia's invasion and the sanctions that followed led many traders to remain on the fence.
Index futures volumes rose by +11.8% compared to January 2022.
Commodity futures on the other end saw moderate gains, +22.9% m/m. Additionally, Ukraine produces approximately 8% of the wheat supply in the market. Due to the war, extraordinary gains were seen in wheat futures. The rally may have attracted investors' attention.
Moreover, total futures volumes for the month saw an increase of +6.4% m/m, options declined by -7.7% m/m.
Regarding Average Daily Volume (ADV), commodity futures posted the biggest gains, up +29.1%. Nevertheless, compared to the previous year commodity futures ADV are down by -8.5%.
ETFs Volumes and Oil Embargo
Breaking down the statistics, strong gains were seen in ETFs. It is the preferred choice of investors that wish to have some exposure to a certain market without being overexposed to a single stock.
In addition, Crude oil futures may see an increase in volumes due to the recent highs. Due to the elevated levels of crude oil, Europe and the US will push forward a deal with Iran.
Once Iran rejoins the oil markets the supply will increase, which may in turn reflect in some weakness in crude oil prices (WTI and Brent). There are 'active' talks of an oil embargo on Russia.
Despite the fear of a significant rally in oil prices in an event of an embargo, both the United States and EU will be well-prepared to limit the market reaction to such an embargo.
Russia is blocking the nuclear deal with Iran as it wishes to be assured it will be able to trade with Iran despite the economic sanctions.
