KCG’s Hotspot FX division has experienced a further downturn in volumes during December, with an average daily volume at approximately $27 billion compared with $32.7 billion in November, $34.3 billion in October and $38 billion in September.
Average daily volumes at Hotspot FX during December this year decreased slightly when compared to the results which KCG’s venerable ECN reported during the high periods of September and October, however with November’s figures having begun to demonstrate that the increased market volatility in September and October was relatively short lived, December’s lower volumes exacerbate this further.
It is notable, however, that whilst December’s monthly figure is much lower it has been during the past few months mainly due to the second half of December being a period in which there is often a natural slowdown in trading. In the first half of December, the company’s volumes were actually up from the past two months, as detailed by LeapRate in the mid-month volume report.
Whilst the volumes achieved by Hotspot FX from the beginning of the month until the middle of December were still considerably higher than the trading activity recorded by the company during the vast majority of this year, the $27 billion average daily volumes which were achieved in December are a result of the combination of high volumes at the beginning of the month which were curtailed by the inevitable lower activity during the global holiday period.
Despite the average daily volume being lower than the two previous months, it is still a more than healthy figure, and is likely to stand this particular electronic brokerage division of KCG in good stead as its parent company prepares to seek potential suitors for its acquisition.
Hotspot FX’s average daily volume figures were affected by some days of very low activity during November, and balanced out by some relative spikes in activity early in the month and then again during the penultimate week of November, which were rectified by high activity in early December. This stands the total trading activity in December at approximately $610 billion.
To view KCG’s official Hotspot FX volume reports, click here.