Moscow Exchange reports 24% drop in FX volumes
The Moscow Exchange, Russia’s largest exchange group, released its monthly batch of trading volumes and metrics for October 2022 – the latest readings showed a pullback across the board for multiple segments, namely in the FX, given lower volatility and a reduced trading schedule.
In terms of the most recent figures, total on-exchange FX volume came in at RUB 14.9 trillion ($250 billion), down 24 percent from RUB 19.5 trillion in September 2022. Compared with volumes from the prior year, this figure was down 40 percent when weighed against RUB 24.9 trillion in October 2021.
Average daily volumes reached RUB 710 billion ($11.4 billion) last month, down from RUB 888 billion in October. Year-over-year, the ADV figure was also down 40 percent from RUB 1.18 trillion in October 2021.
Today’s report follows on the heels of a previous report over the last few months showing mixed FX performance across MOEX, when it has resumed publishing its monthly operational metrics after a halt following the nation’s invasion of Ukraine.
Part of this decline in FX turnover could be attributed to a stronger Ruble. Russia’s currency surged to multi-year highs against the US dollar as the country managed to pay back creditors and avoid a default. Although the numbers mask some ugly truths for the Russian economy, but ruble has gone from an all-time low in March to the world’s best performing currency this year.
Other business highlights show that Money Market turnover was RUB 50.1 trillion, up 7 percent from RUB 46.9 trillion in September. Additionally, the figure was up by 25 percent when compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the CCP-cleared repo segment reached RUB 29.5 trillion, up 28.1 percent on a monthly basis, with the GCC repo segment volume of RUB 11.2. trillion (up 8 percent).
Turnover in precious metals (spot and swaps) was RUB 10.7 billion (September 2022: RUB 13.1 billion), of which RUB 10.5 billion (3.2 t ) was gold and RUB 0.2 billion (4.5 t) was silver.
