Forex ECN FXall, which recently agreed to be acquired by Thomson Reuters for $625 million, announced that August trading volumes fell by 7% to $84 billion per day, down from $90.6 billion in July and a record $98.6 billion in June.
FXall is actually reporting much steadier volumes (as per the chart below) than several of its competitors in the Forex ECN sector. The summer doldrums, combined with low volatility in July and August this year, has hit FXal’s competitors much harder. Looks like Thomson Reuters timed its acquisition of FXall quite well.
In the LeapRate Retail FX Volume Index, sponsored by Leverate, July and August volumes are typically about 5-10% lower than average due to seasonal issues (i.e. summer vacations in the northern hemisphere), but volatility in July and August this year was also somewhat lower than May and June, which saw a 10% and 3% (respectively) increase in global FX volumes in the Retail FX Volume Index.
For more on the global Forex industry see the LeapRate-Dow Jones Forex Industry Report.