UPDATE: Resurgence of Euro Crisis Boosts FX Trading Volumes

--FX trading volumes surge in month of Greek elections

--Tumbling euro caused a flurry of extra trading

--Reuters, EBS report jump in trading volumes

 
   By Alexandra Fletcher 
 

(Rewrites throughout, including detail on EBS.)

Market convulsions after last month's Greek elections have left one corner of the financial industry happy: currency trading.

The euro fell like a stone after voters pushed back at political parties willing to accept austerity in return for international aid. Spooked by the prospect of Greece abandoning the euro, the European currency dropped around 7% against the dollar, hitting a 23-month low of $1.2338 by May 31.

Currency trading volumes for some key systems have surged. Trading systems operated by Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI) handled an average of $154 billion a day in May--the highest for 2012 and nearly a 19% increase on April, the company said Friday.

Rival system in the interbank space EBS, owned by ICAP PLC (IAP.LN), also reported a 19% increase month-on-month of $130.8 billion.

That suggests a possible turnaround for EBS, which in April reported the second lowest currency volumes since January 2006.

FX Alliance Inc. (FX), better known as FXall, also reported a pickup in volume, albeit a smaller one, with an average of $90 billion in May compared with $88.6 billion in April.

Write to Alexandra Fletcher at [e-mail]