With the coronavirus pandemic bringing volatility back to the markets, March is set to be a solid month in terms of trading volumes. This Wednesday, the Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) has released its monthly metrics, showcasing a significant uptick in trading for March.

As Finance Magnates reported, February was a solid month for TFX in terms of trading volumes, with the exchange reporting a solid uptick in foreign exchange (forex) trading on both a monthly and yearly comparison.

However, March’s figures have put February’s to shame, with the exchange posting a total trading volume of FX Daily Futures contracts of 6,442,605 via Click 365. When comparing this against the previous month, trading volumes have more than doubled, soaring by 163.1 percent.

On a yearly comparison, volumes have also achieved a significant increase of 141.5 percent in March, as COVID-19 volatility continues to boost FX trading. For March, the average daily trading volume was 292,845 contracts.

TFX sees massive USD/JPY volumes

Taking a look at individual currency pairs, the United States dollar/Japanese yen saw the biggest monthly and yearly increase in trading volumes in March, with the total trading volume coming in at 2,189,698 contracts. This translates to an uptick of 268.8 percent month-on-month and a massive 393.7 percent growth on a yearly comparison.

However, it wasn’t just FX, which saw a boost in trading during March. In fact, the total trading volume of Equity Index Daily Futures contracts (Click kabu 365) was 3,676,146. When measuring this against the previous month, volumes have climbed by 101.2 percent. Trading is also higher 786.0 percent on a yearly measurement.

While FX and Equity trading both noted significant increases in trading volumes, the same can’t be said for Interest Rate Futures contracts. Specifically, the trading volume of Three-month Euroyen futures was 52,280. This is higher by 72.0 percent month-on-month, but volumes have actually fallen year-on-year by 45.4 percent.