CLS Sees Volume Dip in July

As was the case with those FX platforms to report volume data, CLS also saw a decline in settlement volumes in July, although activity remains comfortably higher than in the same period in 2023.

Overall, CLS says it settled $2.148 trillion per day in July, down 4.9% from June, but up 8.2% year-on-year. FX swaps average daily volume dropped to $1.459 trillion, down 5.2% from June, but up 14% year-on-year. Earlier in the month, both LSEG FX and 360T reported a similar pattern in their non-spot volumes, with the former matching CLS’s annual growth, and the latter doubling it.

Spot volumes also followed the pattern, dropping 3.6% from June to $504 billion per day, representing a 2.7% year-on-year increase. With the exception of EBS, which was boosted by volatility in JPY and CNH late in the month, and 360T, all platforms reported a single-digit percentage decline in spot volumes, but heathy annual increases.

Outright forward volumes at CLS, which have seen good growth over the past two years, actually dropped on both a monthly and annual basis. At $185 billion per day, they are down 6.1% on June, and down 14% from July 2023 – the latter being the current high-water mark for outrights at CLS at $215 billion per day.