Daily spot forex volumes drop on Thomson Reuters and main rival

Spot currency trading volume on Thomson Reuters platforms totalled $97 billion, down from $104 billion in March and nearly 18 per cent lower than $118 billion seen in April last year. ICAP said daily volumes on its electronic platform EBS, where the bulk of the trades in the dollar, yen and euro are carried out, was down 15 per cent in April from a year ago at $82.3 billion.

Total foreign exchange trading volume across Thomson Reuters platforms rose to $373 billion a day from $369 billion in the same month last year. On the month, total volumes were also slightly higher.

Analysts attribute the decline in trading volume across the world's largest financial market to tighter bank regulation, fragile emerging markets and lighter global trade flows. ■