Following a lackluster performance in the previous month, CLS Group, a leading provider of risk mitigation and settlement services for foreign Exchange (FX) dealers and institutions, has reported another month-on-month decline in the daily traded volumes submitted by its clients in May of 2019 this Monday.
For the month of May, CLS reported an average daily traded volume that was submitted of $1.62 trillion. When weighing this against the month of April, which also noted a drop in volumes, it is down by 0.6 percent.
The total monthly volume is based on three trading sections – swap FX, spot FX, and FX forward contracts. Out of the three, swap FX has by far attracted the highest ADV during the month of May.
Specifically, the average daily traded volume (ADV) was $1.125 trillion. This is lower on a month-on-month comparison by 4.2 percent, as April recorded an average daily volume of $1.174 trillion.
Not only was May’s average daily swap FX volume down on a monthly comparison, but it is also lower when weighed against the same month of the previous year - May 2018, by 5.3 percent. This is because May of last year recorded an ADV of $1.188 trillion.
Taking a look at volumes for spot FX, the ADV submitted to CLS was stronger during the month of May. Coming in at $403 billion during the month, May’s ADV is stronger by 11.9 percent against April’s ADV of $360 billion.
However, on a yearly comparison, May’s spot FX volume doesn’t hold up as well. In fact, when measured against May of 2018, which recorded an ADV of $507 billion, last month’s ADV has fallen by 20.5 percent.
Taking a look at the final segment - forward FX, the ADV submitted to CLS was $92 million. This is lower, both on a monthly and yearly comparison, by 3.2 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.
CLS Volumes Go Against Industry Trend
The trading volumes reported by the CLS Group are rather at odds with the industry trend. Overall, trading providers reported that April of 2019 was a lackluster month in terms of FX trading volumes and that volumes picked up in May. This, however, is not reflected in the volumes provided by CLS.
