Currency trading at Moscow Exchange (MOEX) recovered slightly in December but remained well below volumes of the year prior, as well as a 2019 peak seen in April, the company said on Friday.
December was a particularly volatile period for global financial markets as the dollar was hit by waning trade disputes while sterling shot higher on a burst of optimism about Brexit following the Conservatives’ win of a clear majority in the UK election.
MOEX’s total FX market turnover edged higher to RUB 23.5 trillion ($385 billion) last month, up five percent month-over-month from the RUB 22.3 trillion ($347 billion) exchanged hands in November 2019. Compared with volumes from the same month a year earlier, this figure was down by more than 11 percent when weighed against RUB 26.5 in December 2018.
FX volumes also rebound at rivals
Average daily volumes in December 2019 reached RUB 1.117 trillion ($17.7 billion) against RUB 1,116 billion ($17.5 billion) in the prior month, Moex said in a statement. Year-over-year, the ADV figure dropped from RUB 1.26 trillion ($18.8 billion) in 2018.
December 2019’s turnover included spot trades of RUB 5.2 trillion ($85 billion), up from RUB 4.7 trillion in November, and swap trades coming in at RUB 18.2 trillion ($298 billion).
The MOEX numbers also followed stronger trading volumes from rival foreign exchange venues such as CME Group, Euronext, and Georgia-based Intercontinental Exchange.
FX trading on Russia’s mega bourse, as well as on those of its competitors, has had a record start to the year as a rise in Volatility from multi-year lows and a flurry of policy changes supported more currency transactions. However, the exchange’s FX volume was unable to recover from recent lows, though it continues to develop its infrastructure as part of a state-backed drive to make Moex one of the world’s leading financial hubs.
