(Bloomberg) --

Liz Truss’s mini-budget boosted business in the City of London. Just not in the way intended.

The chaos unleashed by pledges of higher spending and unfunded tax cuts resulted in elevated turnover in the UK’s public markets, meaning the City of London came close to reclaiming the crown as Europe’s largest share trading center from Amsterdam in September. 

An average 10.55 billion euros ($10.5 billion) of shares a day were traded on various London venues in September, compared with 10.65 billion euros for various Dutch venues, according to data from Cboe Europe. That’s the highest turnover for London since May, which has lagged Amsterdam in terms of trading volumes since July 2021. 

September was a tumultuous month for equities around the world as major central banks pushed on with monetary tightening to tame surging inflation, fueling a selloff. But the UK stock market was also shaken by internal turmoil. 

The FTSE 350 Index erased about £147 billion ($167 billion) in market value and the pound hit a record low against the dollar. This was followed by intervention by the Bank of England and a government climbdown amid questions over credibility. 

Read More: ‘Uninvestable’ UK Market Lost £300 Billion in Truss’ First Month

Even with this one-off jump, London’s trading volumes remain far below levels seen before the UK left the European Union. In December 2020, London’s share trading volumes stood at 14.3 billion euros compared to 2.2 billion euros for Amsterdam, according to Cboe data.

Britain lost its rights to access the European Union’s single market on Dec. 31, 2020, and the bloc has not permitted investors inside its borders to trade shares in companies such as Airbus SE and BNP Paribas SA from the UK. 

The shifts in trading volume between cities is unlikely to have much of an impact on the bottom line for brokers and trading platforms. The region’s biggest players, including the London Stock Exchange Group Plc and Cboe, operate venues in both London and the EU, enabling them to grab a share of the business no matter the location.

Read More: London Edges Back Ahead of Amsterdam as Europe’s Trading Hub

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