Exchange-traded FX was certainly stable during December 2014, with Moscow Exchange having today announced its monthly trading metrics for the month, showing stellar figures despite the lack of ruble liquidity that blighted Russia’s electronic trading ecosystem during December.
Overall FX volume at Moscow Exchange during December came to a remarkable 25.6 trillion rubles, up some 31% from November’s very steady 18.7 trillion, making the FX and derivatives market the venue’s most active month ever.
Derivatives Market turnover rose 137% on an annual basis to 8.5 trillion rubles, compared to December 2013’s RUB 3.6 trillion, or 168.9 million contracts compared to December 2013’s 83.9 million contracts, of which 7.6 trillion rubles were futures and 971 billion were options.
FX derivatives volumes increased 370% YoY in December to 5.7 trillion rubles. The FX options trading volume reached 748.4 billion rubles, compared with December 2013’s 13.9 billion rubles.
Spot trades amounted to 10.0 trillion rubles, and and swap trades came in at 15.7 trillion rubles, which were substantially higher than November’s spot trades of 6.9 trillion rubles and swap trades of 11.8 trillion rubles, although still standing short of the 21.7 trillion rubles achieved in October this year.
This equated to substantial average daily volume of 1,164.1 billion ruble, ($21.0 billion) compared to the 986.6 billion ($21.5 billion) in November, which although lower than the previous month’s results if using the US dollar as a yardstick, however higher than the 944.4 billion rubles ($23.1 billion) during the industry-wide highs of October if, as well as the 850.3 billion ($22.4 billion) in September this year if using the volatile ruble as a base currency with which to view the results.
As Russia’s prominent trading venue continues to develop its connectivity and presence on the world stage, and ruble liquidity remains in continued demand especially after the temporary suspension of ruble trading by many OTC FX companies in December, it is clear that Moscow Exchange has been able to benefit from riding the wave of volatility in the sovereign currency of its domestic market.
For the full announcement from Moscow Exchange, click here.