Global foreign-exchange trading reached an all-time high, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Preliminary results from the BIS’s triennial survey revealed that average daily over-the-counter (OTC) transactions in April increased to $US9.6 trillion ($14.5 trillion), a 28 per cent jump from April 2022. Trading of OTC interest-rate derivatives also saw a significant surge, climbing 59 per cent to $US7.9 trillion per day.
The surge in trading coincided with a period of heightened volatility in the currency markets. US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, announced on April 2, triggered extreme currency swings, sending the US dollar lower. The BIS report noted that the survey period reflected elevated FX volatility and a surge in trading activity linked to trade policy announcements by major jurisdictions.
The BIS report also noted that the previous survey in April 2022 also coincided with heightened volatility following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A JPMorgan Chase index of currency swings surged to its highest level in two years that month.
Conducted every three years since 1986, the BIS’s triennial survey provides the most comprehensive data on global currency markets. The 2025 edition included contributions from over 1100 financial institutions, offering a detailed snapshot of the market’s size and structure.
