LONDON (Reuters) - Average daily foreign exchange trading volumes rose 9% year-on-year in August, CLS said on Wednesday, as concerns about the health of the global economy sparked an increase in currency trading activity.
CLS, a major settler of trades in the foreign exchange market, said in a statement that August's volumes increased to $1.75 trillion, higher than last year's $1.605 trillion. The August 2019 daily average was unchanged from July's number, however.
Across the year, volumes rose across swap, spot and forward forex products, CLS said.
Currency markets saw higher volatility in August as investors, fearing a global growth downturn and an escalating trade war between China and the United States, dumped riskier assets for the safety of government bonds, the Japanese yen and Swiss franc .
Forex trading volumes are usually closely linked to volatility levels across currency markets.