Moscow Exchange Reports Stable FX Volumes at $325 Billion

Foreign exchange trading out of Russia continued its upward route in February 2021, having risen 5 percent compared with the previous month. But, at RUB 24 trillion ($325 billion), it was down in dollar terms from the equivalent in the prior year, a report by Moscow Exchange (MOEX) showed on Tuesday.

Overall, volumes at major institutional platforms were largely supported by a continuing rise in spot currency trading, according to industry reports seen yesterday.

MOEX’s total FX market turnover was higher month-over-month from RUB 22.9 trillion in January 2021. Compared with volumes from the same month a year earlier, this figure was slightly down from RUB 24.1 trillion in February 2020, but the topline change in nominal Ruble value hides less activity when priced in the greenback.

The average daily volumes in February 2021 reached RUB 1.19 trillion ($16.2 billion), which is down ~19 percent in dollar terms against RUB 1.2 trillion ($19.9 billion) in 2020, MOEX said in a statement.

Additionally, February 2021’s turnover included spot trades of RUB 7.8 trillion ($105 billion), which is up 7.7 percent from a year ago, and ‎swap trades coming in at RUB 16.2 trillion ($219 billion).

Investors’ interest in OTC derivatives trading at Moscow Exchange continued its strong momentum in 2021 buoyed by a steady rise in Volatility Volatility In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders In finance, volatility refers to the amount of change in the rate of a financial instrument, such as commodities, currencies, stocks, over a given time period. Essentially, volatility describes the nature of an instrument’s fluctuation; a highly volatile security equates to large fluctuations in price, and a low volatile security equates to timid fluctuations in price. Volatility is an important statistical indicator used by financial traders to assist them in developing trading systems. Traders Read this Term, coupled with a multi-year effort to bring new business to the platform.

According to its recent report, MOEX’s standardised OTC derivatives market grew 2.5 times as volumes reached RUB 86.9 billion at the end of February 2021.

Moscow Exchange’s derivatives offering line-up Swaps Swaps Swaps can be defined as a derivate contact composed of two parties that exchange to cash flow between two separate financial instruments.They are generally divided into two categories. This includes contingent claims (options) and forward claims, where forward contracts, swaps, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are exchanged. Commodity price, equity price, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate are common variables used as one of the cash flows in swaps upon initiation. Different Types of Swaps Swaps can be defined as a derivate contact composed of two parties that exchange to cash flow between two separate financial instruments.They are generally divided into two categories. This includes contingent claims (options) and forward claims, where forward contracts, swaps, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are exchanged. Commodity price, equity price, interest rate, and foreign exchange rate are common variables used as one of the cash flows in swaps upon initiation. Different Types of Swaps Read this Term, FX swaps, cross-currency swaps, FX forwards and options with maturities from three days to five years.

More than 626,000 retail investors flocked to Russia’s largest institutional trading venue in the first month of 2021, opening twice as many accounts as the monthly average in the previous year.

MOEX said in its monthly report that the number of retail investor accounts hit a 10 million milestone.