FX Swaps Drive CLS Volume Higher, 360T Non-Spot Hits New High?
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: July 20, 2021
Growth in FX swaps trading propelled CLS Group to a month-on-month and year-on-year rise in activity according to data from the settlement utility. Meanwhile, also suggesting strong FX swaps activity, Deutsche Borse has unveiled monthly statistics suggesting non-spot FX activity hit a new high on the group’s 360T platform.
CLS says it handled instructions with a notional value of $1.909 trillion in June, up 6.2% from May and a 7% year-on-year increase. Spot activity was actually lower in June at $428 billion per day, a fraction down from May and 4% lower than June 2020. FX swaps activity more than made up for it, however, with a notional $1.379 trillion settled every day, a 7.8% month-on-month rise and up 11.5% year-on-year. In outright forwards CLS handled $102 billion per day, up 15.9% from May and a fraction up from June 2020.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Borse’s monthly business figures reveal 360T had average daily volume in all FX products of EUR 97.8 billion – second only to March 2020 at the height of the pandemic panic and a 15% increase from May.
Stripping out spot data, which is reported in dollars, however, at static exchange rates 360T is likely to have hit a new peak for the platform in non-spot activity. Whilst March 2020 was largely driven by a spike in spot activity, meaning the platform handled roughly EUR 76 billion in non-spot products, in June spot ADV was $22 billion, suggesting non-spot volumes of around EUR 78 billion.
Earlier this month Refinitiv also reported strong non-spot data, with ADV rising 6.8% from May and up 8.7% year-on-year.