FX Volumes Rebound at CLS Group in September, but Lag YoY

Foreign exchange settlement provider,  saw strong volumes in September 2020 as investors flocked again to safe-haven assets amid violent market swings of fears of a coronavirus-fueled global recession.
The average daily traded volume submitted to CLS was $1.78 trillion in September 2020, up eight percent month-over-month from . Across a yearly timetable, the figure was down three percent relative to September 2019’s figure of $1.84 trillion.

At a currency pair level, the increase can be attributed to a significant surge in volumes for the following currency pairs: EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCAD and AUDUSD, the company said.
CLS reported swaps volumes at $1.25 trillion in September 2020, up from $1.18 trillion in August 2020, a rise of five percent month-over-month. However, the figure was lower by seven percent year-over-year from $1.34 trillion.
Global FX swap volumes surged to nearly $3.2 trillion per day and now account for almost half of global FX trading, according to the  mirroring a pick-up in the spot market and reflecting strong trends in OTC sectors.
Banco Monex Joins CLS
In terms of CLS’ spot FX volume, the group has reported the figure at $427 billion in September 2020, up eleven percent relative to $384 billion in the month prior. Additionally, the figure was higher by five percent over a yearly basis from the $406 billion set in 2019.
The mixed performance was again pronounced across CLS forwards business, which yielded a figure of $108 billion last month, up 40 percent over a monthly basis, and was also up 15 percent year-over-year from $94 billion in September 2019.
“The increase in FX spot volumes in September is consistent with the historical average increase observed between August and September. We generally see a slowdown in the FX market in August before the activity picks up in September supported by the IMM date,” said CLS’s Head of Information Services, Masami Johnstone.
CLS Group, which provides risk mitigation and settlement services for FX dealers and institutions, has recently welcomed Mexican lender, Banco Monex as a third-party participant of CLSSettlement. With this, Banco Monex becomes the first Latin American third-party service provider of CLS’s payment-versus-payment (PvP) FX settlement service.