ICAP Plc (LON:IAP), the expert in online trading, earlier today posted its operating metrics for February 2015. As usual, we take a detailed look at the performance of EBS, ICAP’s electronic FX platform, with the data painting a rather diverse picture depending on whether investors focus on the monthly or annual comparisons.
Average daily volumes at EBS amounted to $94.1 billion in February 2015, down by massive 27.4% against the $129.6 billion mark recorded in January 2015. Of course, we can explain the drop at least partially with the hectic market activity in January, related to the events around “Black Thursday”. And, yet, we cannot skip the fact that EBS just saw its lowest ADV reading since August 2014 when the Forex market was affected by the traditional summer slowdown, associated with low volatility.
Let’s take a look at the annual comparisons now, which are always important to pay attention if an investor seeks an insight into data clear of seasonal effects. This comparison brought a piece of positive news to EBS, as the February 2015 reading was 13% higher than the reading of $83.5 billion seen in February 2014.
We are curious to find out whether the weaker February 2015 result is just a temporary blip or whether it signifies the beginning of a period of a volatility slowdown across Forex markets.
Additional data can be found here.