Australian brokerage company IC Markets has posted a record month for trading volumes in May. The firm has overshot its previous monthly record by over $100 billion, netting to $447 billion for the month figure which translates into $19.4 billion in May.

May’s record for average daily volumes nets a result which is higher by 24 percent than the average of $15.6 billion during the first quarter of 2018. The total monthly volume at IC Markets of $447 billion is higher by 30 percent when compared to the previous record of $343 billion reported in August 2017.

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The Director of IC Markets, Angus Walker, commented in a statement: “The continued surge in IC Markets trading volumes comes as a result of the success of our customer first strategy.”

Volumes in Tandem with Volatility

The ongoing revival of trading volumes across the industry coincides with the significant increase in FX volatility since the start of the year. The geopolitical storm that has triggered a rift of profit taking from the stock market has reignited trading in major currency pairs with the euro being a notable outperformer in the first quarter of 2018.

The second quarter of the year seems to be themed as the return of the US dollar as the king of major currencies. The massive rise in May was fuelled by a Federal Reserve which is increasingly committed to unwinding its balance sheet.

Brokers and traders are increasingly interested in the market as the mix of news is consistently delivering an outperformer across major currency pairs. The upcoming G7 meeting in Canada this weekend is likely to spark more volatility in the coming weeks.