Average Daily FX Trading Hits $7.5 Trillion in April 2022, BIS Triennial FX Survey Says

By Jessica Fleetham

Average daily foreign-exchange trading rose to a record $7.5 trillion in April 2022, up 14% from $6.6 trillion in 2019, according to the Bank for International Settlements' triennial central bank survey.

The survey showed the dollar firmly held onto its status as the dominant global currency, while renminbi trading increased. London retained the leading spot as the top FX trading location but trade there has reduced after the country's exit from the European Union.

Growth in FX trade came "despite data collection coinciding with heightened FX volatility due to changing expectations about the path of future interest rates in major advanced economies, rising commodity prices and geopolitical tensions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine," the BIS said in its accompanying press release.

The U.S. dollar was on one side of 88% of all FX trades in April 2022, unchanged from the previous survey, the BIS said.

The euro remained the second most actively traded currency but decreased its share marginally to 30.5% of all trades in April 2022, from 32% in 2019.

The Japanese yen and sterling were on one side of 17% and 13% of all trades, respectively, virtually unchanged since the 2019 survey.

The Chinese renminbi exhibited the biggest increase in market share since 2019, being on one side of 7% of all trades in 2022, up from 4% in 2019. This made the renminbi the fifth most traded currency, up from eighth place three years ago, the BIS said.

As two currencies are involved in each transaction, the sum of shares in individual currencies totals 200% in the BIS's calculations.

FX trading continues to be concentrated in five locations - the U.K., the U.S., Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, the survey found.

The U.K. held onto its spot as the most important location for FX trading, representing 38% of global turnover. However, this was down from 43% in 2019.

Turnover in the U.S. increased to 19% of global turnover from 17% in 2019; turnover in Singapore rose to 9% from 8%; Hong Kong turnover declined to 7% from 8%, while in Japan it fell to 4% from 5%, the BIS said.

The BIS's triennial survey took place in April 2022 and involved central banks and other authorities in 52 jurisdictions, which reported national aggregates to the BIS.

Write to Jessica Fleetham at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-27-22 1033ET