Thomson Reuters Announces August Trading Metrics

Thomson Reuters released its August FX volumes on Tuesday, with spot Forex average daily volumes up 8 percent to $107 billion, from $99 billion in July. Spot FX average daily volumes in August 2013 were $111 billion, representing a decline of 3.6 percent last month.

Other trading volumes, such as Thomson Reuters swaps, forwards, SEF platform, non-deliverable forwards and options, rose 1.2 percent to $248 billion in August from a month earlier. The other volumes rose 30.5 percent in the year through August 2014 to $190 billion. Much of the gain in other trading volumes was attributed to surging SEF usage.

Cumulatively, the company recorded a combined volume of $355 billion in August, up 3.19 percent from $344 billion in July. The volumes also rose 17.9 percent from August 2013, when they totalled $301 billion.

Meanwhile, leading FX and research broker ITG launched ITG FX Volatility Index (ITG FXVX) on Tuesday as a daily benchmark that can be used by portfolio managers and foreign exchange traders. The ITG FX Volatility Index estimates the degree of market volatility in the incoming trading day by analyzing historical trends and adjusting for implied volatility. It also relies on recent volatility patterns in ECNs and dealers in the previous trading session.

ITG also improved its ITG FX Trading Cost Index (ITG FXCX) to incorporate cost estimates for five currency batches (Commonwealth, Asia Pacific, Europe and Emerging Markets and the Big 3), besides the 20 currency pairs.

 “The new ITG FX Volatility Cost Index, together with the enhanced ITG FX Trading Cost Index, enable foreign exchange traders to estimate trading costs and potential price slippage from volatility before placing trades,” Ian Domowitz, ITG Managing Director and Head of Analytics, said in a statement. “Both tools are available via a free web-based mobile app, offering an easily accessible reference tool for anyone seeking insight into FX trading.”