EBS forex volumes rise 22 pct in March

LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - Foreign exchange spot volumes on the EBS platform rose back above $100 billion a day in March, up by 22 percent from February and by 30 percent from a year ago, helped by another handful of big swings in major currency rates.

Trading on EBS, the main venue for banks and other major institutions to trade the euro, yen and Swiss franc against the dollar, have recovered since hitting a daily average of $70.6 billion last July, the lowest in the decade of data that parent company ICAP (LSE: IAP.L - news) provides on its website.

While trading was weaker in February, the average for the 12 months to March 31 rose from the year before to $99.1 billion compared with $93.2 billion.

In March alone, volumes averaged $114.5 billion compared with $88.4 billion a year ago and $94.1 billion in February.

The figures all broadly reflect a recovery since the middle of last year in the volatility of currency rates that traders rely on to drive client interest and returns. (Reporting by Patrick Graham, editing by Anirban Nag/Hugh Lawson)