Tradeweb Markets Achieves Record Trading Volumes in August

Tradeweb Markets has reported a historic achievement for August 2024, with total trading volume hitting a staggering $50.9 trillion. This marks a significant milestone for the platform, driven by a substantial uptick in demand for US government bonds and global repurchase agreements.

The average daily volume (ADV) for August surged to $2.21 trillion, reflecting a 53.9% increase compared to the same period last year. This growth was particularly notable in the US government bond sector, which saw an ADV of $228.2 billion in August, a remarkable 59.9% year-over-year increase. European bonds also contributed to the overall growth, with an 11.8% rise in ADV. Global repurchase agreements (repo) played a significant role in the expansion, recording a 30.8% year-over-year increase in ADV to $643.5 billion.

In addition, retail money market activity remained robust, bolstered by expectations of future interest rate cuts. August saw a sharp rise in mortgage trading, with ADV climbing 32.3% year-over-year to $230.7 billion.

Credit markets also experienced substantial growth, particularly in credit derivatives, which surged by 135.6% year-over-year to $18.6 billion in ADV. Municipal bond trading saw a 13.4% increase in ADV to $392 million, benefiting from a wave of record issuance throughout the month.

Equities trading showed positive movement as well, with US exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posting a 6.8% year-over-year increase in ADV to $7.2 billion. European ETFs experienced a more dramatic rise of 43.4%, reaching $2.7 billion.

Rates derivatives continued to be a strong performer for Tradeweb, with swaps and swaptions (≥1 year) posting a 5.4% increase in ADV to $402.3 billion. The broader rates derivatives segment grew by 35.7% year-over-year, with total ADV reaching $727.4 billion.

Despite the record-breaking volumes, Tradeweb observed a 22% decrease in compression activity, as clients shifted towards other trading protocols amidst changing market conditions.