Global foreign exchange turnover drops for a second consecutive month in Nov.

Tuesday, 17 December 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

LONDON (Reuters): Average daily foreign exchange trading volumes fell 4.2% year-on-year in November, CLS said yesterday, as long-running trade talks between the United States and China and the run-up to the British election suppressed broader market volatility.

CLS, a major settler of trades in the foreign exchange market, said in a statement that November’s volumes dropped to $ 1.61 trillion, down from last year’s $ 1.68 trillion. The November 2019 daily average was also down 10% from October’s number, however.

The decline in FX turnover was the second consecutive month on CLS platforms. Banks have increasingly routed more volumes on their internal platforms this year, according to a recent Bank for International Settlements report.

Foreign exchange volumes have generally been rising in 2019 despite near record-low volatility.

However, uncertainty about whether the US and China would agree a deal to resolve part of their trade war and about who would win last week’s general election in Britain encouraged more forex traders last month to sit on the sidelines and wait for clarity.