China’s August 2026 FX turnover falls as spot trading retreats
China’s RMB foreign-exchange turnover fell to 38,726.56 in USD 100 million units in August 2026. Spot trading led the decline from July, while options turnover increased and total activity remained above August 2025.
China’s RMB-against-foreign-currency market turnover totalled 38,726.56 in USD 100 million units in August 2026, down from 42,612.51 in July, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). The monthly decline was concentrated in spot trading, while swaps were comparatively steady and options turnover increased.
The decline followed increases in June and July. August’s total was below June’s 41,076.25, but remained above the 33,774.24 recorded in August 2025. It also exceeded the August readings in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Those comparisons place the latest retreat in perspective: activity eased from recent months without falling below earlier August levels. These are monthly totals, however, rather than comparisons adjusted for the number of trading days.
Spot weakens while swaps retain their lead
Spot turnover fell to 11,290.58 from 14,823.04 in July, accounting for most of the overall decline. FX and currency swaps, the largest instrument category in both months, eased to 24,101.02 from 24,580.48. Forwards also declined, while options rose to 2,415.25 from 2,178.75. All figures are in USD 100 million units; these instruments are already included in the headline total.
The mix points to an uneven pullback rather than a uniform contraction across instruments. Swaps remained the centre of reported activity even as spot transactions receded. Options moving in the opposite direction further distinguishes the month from a broad-based decline. That combination describes a change in trading composition, but does not by itself establish a change in liquidity conditions or greater hedging demand. Turnover measures transactions, not outstanding risk positions, and cannot establish net capital inflows or the direction of the exchange rate.
Both market segments recorded lower turnover. Interbank activity fell to 32,395.95 from 35,508.19, while bank-to-customer turnover declined to 6,330.61 from 7,104.32. Interbank transactions therefore remained the larger segment. SAFE measures the customer segment as customers’ foreign-currency purchases plus sales, whereas interbank turnover is single-sided. The customer figure is neither a retail-only measure nor a net flow, so its decline cannot establish whether customers became net buyers or sellers of foreign currency.
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