Average daily TRACE volume for US investment grade (IG) and high yield (HY) corporates slipped 11 % from April to US$52.8 billion, according to MarketAxess calculations, though activity still ran 22 % ahead of May 2024. IG fell to US$39.7 billion (-11% month-on-month), while HY eased to US$13.2 billion (-10% MoM).
MarketAxess posted US$16.3 billion of credit average daily volumes (ADV), 11% lower than April but 22% above May 2024. Every cash product except eurobonds declined month-on-month (MoM). US IG ADV was US$7.65 billion, HY ADV was US$1.6 billion, and emerging market credit ADV was US$3.62.
Eurobonds set a fresh record on a 500% jump in portfolio trading and a 116% surge in block volume. Portfolio trading market share year-to-date stands at 18.6%, up 4.5% versus 2024. Dealer-initiated flow also accelerated, with ADV up 41% year-on-year (YoY) to US$1.8 billion.
Tradeweb’s fully electronic US credit ADV fell to US$8.3 billion, down about 6% from April but 25% higher than a year earlier. IG electronic trading share edged up to 17.8%, while HY share ticked lower to 8.3%. On a total TRACE basis (fully electronic and electronically processed) the firm claims 25.3% IG and 11.0% HY. European cash credit ADV eased to US$2.4 billion (+8.6% YoY). Credit-derivative ADV nearly halved from April’s record to US$17.0 billion but remained up 95% YoY. Outside credit, repo ADV set another all-time high at US$780 billion.
Private venue Trumid recorded US$6.8 billion ADV, 10% below April’s peak yet 30% up YoY. Request for quote (RFQ) activity extended its monthly record streak with protocol ADV and trade count both more than doubling YoY, supported by an 81% AutoPilot ‘no-touch’ rate. According to Trumid, buy-side engagement hit a new high: asset manager ADV rose approximately 60% YoY, and roughly 70% more buy-side traders traded on the platform daily than a year ago. The platform does not break out IG versus HY, limiting direct comparisons with its listed rivals.
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