The volumes of US initial public offerings is on the rise for a second year in a row, even though domestic new issues still lag behind those in Europe and China.

Scott Gehsmann, a partner with transaction services capital markets at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said the first quarter of this year is off to a good start with 64 flotations raising $12.1bn (€9bn), and that his firm expects 2007 to be a stronger year for listings than 2006.