The Bank of England, the Federal Reserve and the authorities in Singapore, Japan, Australia and Canada all published their FX volume data for April. The data is published twice each year (apart from the data from Tokyo which is annual) in January and July and shows FX volumes for the preceding October and April respectively. The data for April 2009 year slumped, reflecting the crisis taking hold, but last October’s data showed volumes recovering. This newest set of data, for April 2010, shows volumes approaching, and in some cases exceeding the pre-crisis highs.
London and aggregate spot FX volume hit a new record in April – of $1.328 trillion, exceeding the previous record spot FX volume seen in October 2008 of $1.269 trillion.
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The Bank of England’s FX Joint Standing Committee data showed ‘traditional’ (i.e. spot FX, outright FX, non-deliverable forwards and FX swaps) average daily volume was up 15% in April over October. Spot FX volume was up 25% at $642 billion per day, compared with $513 billion six months before, and FX swaps were up 7% ($756 billion against $705 billion).