The Wall Street Journal reports that trading volumes at the London fix (1600 GMT) have fallen sharply since probes into manipulation.

“Asset managers raised concerns that volumes traded at the 4 p.m. WM/Reuters fix are dropping like a stone,” said one participant. “This is a problem for the industry because assets are calculated against the benchmark.”

I don’t see how it’s a problem ‘because assets are calculated against the benchmark’. The benchmark is arbitrary and was manipulated so, if anything, it should be less of a problem. One worry is that less volume at the fix makes it even easier to manipulate if someone out there is still banging away.