Global FX turnover rises to USD 9,510 billion a day in April 2025 BIS survey
Global OTC foreign exchange turnover averaged USD 9,510.24 billion a day in April 2025, up from USD 7,467.54 billion in April 2022, according to the BIS. FX swaps remained the largest instrument component.
Global over-the-counter foreign exchange turnover averaged USD 9,510.24 billion per day in April 2025, compared with USD 7,467.54 billion in April 2022, according to the Bank for International Settlements. Activity increased across all five reported instrument categories, but the expansion was uneven: spot and outright forwards rose more markedly than FX swaps, which remained the largest component.
The BIS Triennial Survey measures trading reported by participating dealers, rather than retail-broker activity alone. These figures are April daily averages for each survey year, not annual transaction totals. They use the global net-net basis, which adjusts for local and cross-border inter-dealer double counting. The comparison therefore describes the change between two survey snapshots three years apart, rather than a year-on-year movement.
Expansion extends beyond FX swaps
FX swaps averaged USD 4,015.29 billion per day in April 2025, against USD 3,797.72 billion in the previous survey. Spot turnover reached USD 2,951.77 billion, compared with USD 2,085.32 billion, while outright forwards rose to USD 1,747.31 billion from USD 1,157.36 billion. The contrast shows that the increase in overall activity was not simply an expansion of the largest instrument category: spot and outright forwards each recorded a larger absolute rise than FX swaps.
Options also expanded, reaching USD 631.72 billion a day against USD 303.31 billion in April 2022. Currency swaps increased too, but remained the smallest of the five reported components. The instrument results describe the composition of overall turnover; they are not separate market totals to be added to the headline figure.
The clearest market-structure signal is a broader mix of trading activity, with FX swaps retaining their lead while other instruments gained ground. Higher transaction turnover does not by itself establish deeper liquidity or lower execution costs. Nor does it measure outstanding positions or net cross-border capital flows: the survey supports a conclusion about trading activity, not the direction of investment or exchange rates.
Original source: Bank for International Settlements, BIS Triennial FX Survey: https://data.bis.org/topics/DER/tables-and-dashboards/BIS,DER_D11_1,1.0
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