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Bank Of England: Results Of The Semi-Annual FX Turnover Surveys In October 2024

In October 2024, 25 financial institutions active in the UK foreign exchange market participated in the semi-annual turnover survey for the Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FXJSC). The survey results are summarised below. Detailed tables for the October 2024 reporting period are available separately.

The main findings of the survey are:

  • The average daily reported UK foreign exchange turnover was $3,217 billion in October 2024, representing a 5% decrease relative to turnover recorded in the April 2024 survey. This is consistent with previous trends, where turnover in October has been lower than the preceding April survey. On a year-on-year basis, turnover in October 2024 increased by 10%, when compared to the October 2023 survey.
  • FX swaps remained the most traded instrument by turnover, representing 44% of overall volume in October 2024 - which is broadly unchanged when compared to the April 2024 survey. FX spot volume in October 2024 also remained broadly unchanged when compared to April 2024 – making up 28% of overall volume.
  • Market share of the top three traded currency pairs; EUR/USD, GBP/USD and USD/JPY, remained broadly in line with previous surveys. EUR/USD continued to be the most traded currency pair in London, with an average daily turnover of $797 billion, making up 25% of overall volume in October 2024.
  • Since October 2008, the overall FX turnover has risen steadily, nearly doubling from $1,697 billion to $3,217 billion.

Tables 1 to 4 below provide various summaries of the average daily data for October 2024, with comparisons to April 2024.

Similar semi-annual surveys were also conducted in October 2024 by the New York Foreign Exchange Committee, the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee, the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market Committee, the Canadian Foreign Exchange Committee, the Australian Foreign Exchange Committee, and the Hong Kong Treasury Markets Association.

Background

  1. The FXJSC was established in November 1973 and is a forum for market participants, infrastructure providers and the relevant UK public authorities to discuss conjunctural and structural issues concerning the wholesale foreign exchange market in the UK and the associated supporting infrastructure. The FXJSC currently has two sub committees:
    1. The Operations Sub-Committee was established in 2002. Its members are operations managers from many major banks active in the London wholesale FX market, as well as representatives from service providers and trade associations and also from the FCA.
    2. The Legal Sub-Committee was established in 2004 and comprises legal professionals providing in-house counsel for many of the major institutions involved in the wholesale FX market in London.
  2. While the data presented here is of a similar nature to that collected by the BIS triennial survey, the FXJSC data is collected more frequently. In addition, the basis of reporting for the FXJSC survey is the location of the price-setting dealer, whereas the basis of reporting in the BIS triennial survey is the location of the sales desk.
  3. Global and UK results for the April 2022 BIS triennial survey
  4. The results of this survey are also available on the FXJSC page
  5. Reporting guidelines issued to participating financial institutions
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