Adjusting the settlement figures to correspond to the trade data, the sum of average values of spot FX transactions settled was $700 billion in October 2010 compared with $630 billion in April 2010 and $610 billion in October 2009. FX swap values averaged $740 billion compared with $575 billion and $530 billion, and outright forwards were $153 billion compared with $127 billion and $134 billion. These figures reflect an increase in settled trade values of almost 20% over April 2010 although they also show the increased penetration of CLS itself in OTC FX settlement.
Much of the increase in values settled is in FX swaps which are up 29% but swap-related settlement instructions are up by a lesser degree at 19%. On should be wary of making too much of such slender data but it does mean that the average FX swap deal size has increased by about 8%. Could it be that FX forward credit limits are increasing?