The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) released today its total trading volumes figures for the month of January 2014, showing a sharp drop in FX  compared to the previous month.

The total FX market turnover in January 2014 at MOEX was just about $372.1 billion (RUB 13,192 billion), a decrease of about 22% compared with the record setting volume for December of last year, of about $476.7 billion (RUB 16.9 trillion).

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Despite the monthly drop, the figure still represents a considerable 36% yearly increase compared with January 2013’s volume of about $273.2 billion (RUB 8,408 billion).

The January total FX volume was comprised of $157.6 billion (RUB 5,583 billion) in spot trades which accounted for 42% of the total and $214.8 billion (RUB 7,609 billion) in swap trades which accounted for 58% of the total.

The MOEX FX market’s average daily turnover (ADV) in January was also down about 13.5% to just $19.59 billion (RUB 694 billion), compared with the previous month in which MOEX posted its highest ever such monthly figure at $22.66 billion (RUB 803 billion).

Despite the drops in its FX market volumes, MOEX emphasized that increased volatility in the FX markets in January resulted in a higher trading activity in its FX derivatives business. Additionally, the exchange stated its members showed increased interest in hedging instruments following a sharp fall of the ruble against a basket of currencies.