CLS Hits Second Highest ADV

As was the case with many of the FX platforms to report results earlier this month, CLS also benefitted from a busy April, handling the second highest notional volumes since it started reporting data.

In total, CLS says it handled $2.156 trillion in March across all FX products, a total only beaten by March 2020 and the onset of the pandemic. Unlike that month, when the surge was driven by an explosion in spot volume, the latest data has more broad-based drivers, although FX swaps hit their highest level at $1.459 trillion. This is a slight 0.5% increase on March, which was itself a new peak, and is up 7.7% year-on-year. Significantly, this is the first time CLS has hit a new peak outside of March, June or September, three quarter ends that typically see the service at its busiest.

Elsewhere, outright forwards average daily volume (ADV) was unchanged from March at $172 billion – this remains up 13.9% year-on-year, however – while spot ADV was the fourth highest since CLS started reporting, at $525 billion. This represents a 7.8% increase from March and is up a very healthy 22.4% year-on-year.