FX Turnover Hits $9.6 Trillion in BIS Triennial Survey

The Bank for International Settlements has released the 2025 Triennial Survey of FX Turnover, revealing that average daily volume in April was just shy of $9.6 trillion on a net-net basis, a massive 27.8% increase from the 2022 survey, growth that reflects the high volatility evident in April as “Liberation Day” took place. It is, naturally, the highest average daily turnover reported by the BIS since it started reporting data in 1986.

Spot turnover was 2.577 trillion, a 22.3% increase from 2022, while outright forwards activity rose by a huge 58.7% to $1.847 trillion. The world’s largest FX market, FX swaps, saw activity climb by a more modest 4.6% to $3.986 trillion, while FX options also benefitted from the high volatility, more than doubling to $634.2 billion per day, up from $304 billion in 2022. Currency swaps turnover was $171.9 billion, up 38.6%.

Turnover increased dramatically with every client segment except for non-financial customers such as corporates, activity there rose by 4.2% to $443 billion per day. Elsewhere it was substantial gains across the board, with non-reporting banks the largest segment at $2.35 trillion per day (up 45.2% from 2022), while institutional investors saw activity rise by 49% to $1.262 trillion, and hedge funds and prop trading firms by 47.4% to $758 billion per day.

The official sector was also busier, by 39.4% to $138 billion per day, but the largest segment remains other reporting banks, at $4.372 trillion, up 26.3% on 2022.

Prime brokerage is still a very lucrative business it seems, the share of activity via a prime broker jumped by 64.2% to $2.163 trillion per day – there was also an increase in back-to-back trades, by 36.9% to 1.192 trillion per day.

In terms of the spot market, turnover with institutional investors grew by a dramatic 93.9% to $442 billion per day, while non-reporting banks remains the busiest segment at $712 billion, up 56.1% from 2022. Hedge funds and prop trading firms accounted for $357 billion per day, a 60% rise, while the official sector transacted $26.6 billion, up from $20 billion in April 2022.

The only disappointing early data point comes with a fall in corporate spot activity, from $150 billion per day in April 2022, to $144.5 billion in the latest survey. Prime brokerage turnover in spot jumped 61.6% to 1.281 trillion per day. Spot turnover between reporting dealers rose 40.25% to $1.181 trillion per day.

Corporate activity also dropped in outright forwards, suggesting corporates decided to avoid the mayhem, especially early in the month, with average daily turnover falling to $83.5 billion from $95 billion in 2022. Elsewhere, however, it was all good news, with non-reporting bank activity more than trebling to $524 billion from $162 billion, institutional investors traded $377 billion per day (+33.7%), while hedge funds and prop trading firms traded $168.6 billion (+44.1).

As to be expected given the muted rise in FX swaps activity, changes in client segments were minimal, non reporting banks’ turnover was $975 billion, up 7.3%, while with institutional investors it rose 17.1% to $349 billion. Hedge fund activity in swaps was a fraction higher at $130.2 billion ($130 billion), and that with non-financial customers was up $1 billion to $149 billion per day.

The changes in FX options, meanwhile, were immense and across the board. Non-reporting banks turnover rose by just shy of 96% to $105.8 billion per day, while institutional investors’ activity rose by 154% to $83.9 billion per day. Hedge funds and prop trading firms transacted $79.3 billion, up 98.3%, and even non-financials got involved, turnover there increasing by 86.3% to $50.3 billion per day.

The UK has held onto its seemingly unassailable position as the world’s largest FX centre, although activity allocated there by the BIS (which reports according to the location of the sales desk and on a “net-gross basis), did drift to 37.75% from the 38.1% reported in 2022. The US remains second and also saw its share drift, to 18.6% from 19.4%, while Singapore has joined the Trillion-Dollar Club, recording above that number for the first time at $1.485 trillion on a net-gross basis, an 11.8% share compared to 9.4% in 2022. Hong Kong saw its share drift from 7.1% to 7%, while Japan’s share reflects its diminishing status signalled by the FX Committee’s semi-annual turnover surveys, by dropping to 3.5% of turnover, from 4.4% in 2022.