The Reserve Bank of Australia has today released a summary of findings from the latest triennial survey of turnover in foreign exchange (FX) and over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives markets that was conducted in the Australian market in April 2025. This was part of a global survey that involved central banks and authorities from 52 jurisdictions and was coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to obtain comprehensive and consistent information on the size and structure of FX and OTC derivatives markets. Similar surveys have been conducted every three years since 1986 for activity in FX markets and since 1995 for OTC interest rate derivatives markets.
Globally, the Australian dollar is the seventh most traded currency, down from sixth in the previous survey, and its share of turnover remained stable around 6 per cent. The AUD/USD remains the sixth most traded currency pair globally, accounting for around 5 per cent of all transactions.
Activity in Australia's FX market in April 2025 reached its highest level on record. The survey was conducted during a period of heightened FX volatility and a surge of trading activity following several trade policy announcements by major economies. Average daily turnover in Australia's FX market increased by 34 per cent to US$201 billion per day in April 2025, from US$150 billion in April 2022.[1] Australia's FX market remains the the 11th largest in the world.
In the Australian FX market the majority of turnover remained in FX swaps, accounting for around 53 per cent of total turnover. Spot transactions accounted for 25 per cent of Australian turnover, up from 23 per cent in 2022, and outright forwards accounted for 18 per cent of Australian turnover, little changed from the previous survey.
Activity in the Australian OTC interest rate derivatives markets increased sharply since the previous survey. Average daily turnover in Australian OTC interest rate derivatives markets increased by 123 per cent to US$252 billion during April 2022, reflecting an increase in turnover of interest rate swaps.
The preliminary results of the global turnover survey are available from the BIS website. The final data and related analysis will be released by the BIS in December 2025. Links to other participating jurisdictions' results are available from the BIS website. More detailed results for the Australian market are available on the 2025 BIS Triennial Survey Results – Australia page. The BIS will also publish global data on amounts outstanding in OTC derivatives markets in November 2025.
Endnote
Australian data are reported on a "net-gross" basis, correcting for local inter-dealer double counting only. Global data are reported on a "net-net" basis, correcting for both local and cross-border inter-dealer double counting. 1
