Icap, the interdealer broker, has declared it is on track to post full-year profits at the upper end of analyst forecasts, after extreme financial market volatility during the summer helped boost trading volumes across its voice and electronic broking businesses in the six months to September.

Icap chief executive Michael Spencer today said in a trading statement, which will be the broker's last financial update before it reports its interim profits on November 20: "Icap enjoyed a very successful first half to the year, benefiting from higher volatility in the interest rate, foreign exchange, energy and credit markets.