GMO Click has released its latest disclosure of monthly trading volumes for the month ending December 2017. Of particular note was that the FXNeo platform’s volumes plunged to a new yearly low, underscoring the weakest reading in a month at the venue since 2014.

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Volumes were largely lower across most other brokerages in the industry, with Japan being no exception. Most venues saw a consolidation of FX trading volumes during December, given the lack of volatility and market drivers. Markets were seemingly in hibernation given that the Western world was also observing holidays, though the volume decline at FXNeo was somewhat more pronounced than with other platforms.

As such, GMO Click’s slight rebound in its trading activity last month across its FXNeo platform was short-lived heading into December. Its latest reading easily constitutes its lowest figure in nearly three years, since August 2014.

The latest figure at FXNeo came in at just ¥51.0 trillion ($451.9 billion) in December 2017, cratering by a factor of 31.2 percent on a month-over-month basis from ¥75.2 trillion ($666.3 billion) in November 2017. Apart from the seasonal lull, the main culprit for the lack of volumes growth in December was also attributed to the muted movement of the USD/JPY, which was even more static than in other previous months.

On a yearly basis, December 2017’s volumes easily lagged behind its 2016 counterpart, falling by a margin of 53.5 percent year-over-year from ¥109.7 trillion ($971.9 billion). On the whole, GMO Click’s FXNeo platform has notably underperformed in 2017 relative to the year prior, with volatility being one primary factor. Isolated pockets of trading activity were a prevalent trend over the past twelve months, though volumes have consistently been unable to meet their 2016 counterparts.

Continuing with this trend, GMO Click’s Click 365 exchange traded product also registered a monthly decrease in the total volume of contracts traded during December. The figure stood at 411,588 contracts, retreating off of one of its highest levels in 2017. Rather, the latest trading statics declined by 11.4 percent month-over-month from 464,386 contracts in November 2017.

This figure also pales in comparison to December 2016, which managed to see a 753,168 contracts traded, or -45.3 percent year-over-year. The results of Click 365 and FXNeo underpin the subdued trading year GMO Click has had in 2017. It will look to get back on track heading into January 2018.