Currently, the U.S. accounts for around 35% of the total global spend on trading and related technology and services, Kimsey said. The second largest market is the UK, which accounts for approximately 14% of spend.

In regional terms, Europe is the largest market, with an estimated USD$19 billion spent in 2007.

Last summer, Kimsey estimated that the market for trading technology will grow 7% by 2010, and that it will add around 25,000 trading positions to the existing half a million trading positions. The global market for trading technology currently consists of more than 65,000 firms.

Commenting the new findings, Stephen Kimsey, head of Kimsey Consulting, said current economic conditions in the U.S. are likely to slow growth of trading technology in the region -- but globally, emerging markets are likely to continue driving growth.

"Though growing economic uncertainty is likely to see mature markets remaining comparatively static, continuing development and expansion of financial, commodities and energy trading activity in emerging markets will support continued growth of the global market for trading and related technology and services", Kimsey said.

The new report found that spend on applications and associated hardware and services, was an estimated U.S. $28.8 billion this year, almost three times the amount spent on information (including market data and news).

Meanwhile, spend on telecommunications (trading turrets, voice lines, recording, etc.) reached an estimated U.S. $6 billion in 2007.

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