Tariff concerns push US bond trading volumes to record highs
US bond trading volumes hit record highs in February as the Trump administration’s stop-start tariff policies and shifting economic data prompted a flurry of activity across financial markets.
A record US$1.1trn of Treasuries changed hands daily on average in February, according to data provider Coalition Greenwich, representing a 16% increase from a year earlier. That included the busiest day ever for Treasury trading on February 28, with US$1.6trn of volume.
In US corporate bond markets, meanwhile, US$55bn traded on average each day in February, Coalition Greenwich said, US$1bn higher than the previous record set in September.
“Will they/won’t they tariffs, inflation surprises and revived rate cut expectations kept investors and traders busy,” Coalition Greenwich said. “February’s tariff rollercoaster [also] increased perceived credit risk and, in doing so, helped the US corporate bond market reach a new volume record.”
Bond and derivative trading volumes have been reaching new heights in 2025 as investors scramble to adapt to the new economic outlook in the US and Europe. Record volumes of German government bond futures and euro interest rate swaps traded in the days after Germany’s incoming government outlined plans to increase defence and infrastructure spending by about €1trn.
Elsewhere, investors hedging their exposure to US credit markets sent US credit default swap index trading volumes to their highest levels last week since the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020. About US$312bn in CDS indices tracking US investment-grade and high-yield credit changed hands last week, according to DTCC data collated by ISDA, making it the third busiest week on record.