European trading volumes for September 2010 have recovered to their highest level since June 2010, surpassing the turnovers recorded at the start of the year.
According to data from Thomson Reuters the total volume of pan-Europe equity trading by turnover in September was €755 billion, up from a year low point of €668.5 billion in August. This puts European volumes back on the road to recovery, with €682.4 billion turnover in January having risen to €849.1 billion turnover in April, before the Greek debt crisis saw volatility push it to €1.108 trillion in May 2010, which was followed by a fall. The figures for September represent an overall improvement on the €742.5 billion traded this time last year, in September 2009.
Suggested reasons suggested for the recent low trading volumes ranged from the August holiday period to uncertainty over the macroeconomic situation leading to a buy and hold strategy.
Nevertheless, the figures for September 2010 suggest an overall upward trend since the dark days of the financial crisis, when volumes reached a low of €520.4 billion in December 2008. Earlier this month, UK trading venue the London Stock Exchange reported an increase in trading levels – average daily value traded in the UK increased by 9% year on year, at £5 billion.