A headline figure can be accurate and still misleading when used outside its context. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported USD 9.6 trillion in average daily over-the-counter foreign-exchange turnover in April 2025, an increase from its 2022 survey. That is market activity during a surveyed month, not an estimate of the amount retail traders invested, the daily profit pool, or the market’s trading value on 17 October 2026. The BIS publication dated 30 September 2025 is the source for the figures below.
How the central-bank survey works
The BIS coordinates a survey with central banks and authorities across jurisdictions. The 2025 edition involved 52 jurisdictions and more than 1,100 dealer institutions. It measures reported transactions, usually by the sales desks of reporting dealers, and applies conventions to reduce double counting. There is no single global FX exchange recording all trades. Survey estimates therefore capture a defined OTC institutional market rather than every consumer conversion or app trade on Earth.
The 2025 survey covers April 2025, a month characterized by trade-policy announcements and sharp volatility. Readers comparing it with a quiet week in another year should not infer a permanent 28% increase in daily activity. Sampling month and market conditions matter. Survey statistics may also be revised; quote the exact release and version when making a year-on-year comparison.
The instrument mix is the real story
The word “forex” often brings to mind a currency pair chart. But the BIS results show FX swaps averaged about USD 4 trillion a day in April 2025 and remained the largest instrument category. Spot turnover rose substantially, but represented only about 31% of total reported FX turnover. Outright forwards represented about 19%.
An FX swap normally exchanges currencies now and reverses the exchange at a specified later date. It can help institutions manage funding and hedging needs. An outright forward fixes terms for a future exchange. Those transactions serve very different functions from a leveraged retail bet on a candle moving five pips.
Why this matters: a market dominated by hedging and balance-sheet management cannot be interpreted only through retail technical-analysis signals. Banks and corporations may trade to reduce an existing currency exposure even when they have no conviction about tomorrow’s price.
The dollar is on one side of most trades
The BIS reported the US dollar on one side of 89% of FX transactions, with the euro involved in 28.9% and the yen in 16.8% of trades during the survey month. Currency shares sum to more than 100% because each FX trade involves two currencies. A USD/EUR transaction counts for each; these are not exclusive market-share categories.
Likewise, the data describe turnover, not net demand. High dollar involvement does not prove broad dollar buying; both buyers and sellers transact in dollars. A larger transaction volume can coexist with a falling currency.
Geographic concentration is not a 24-hour liquidity guarantee
According to the same BIS release, desks in the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore and Hong Kong accounted for roughly 75% of reported turnover in April 2025. That helps explain the commercial significance of trading-center overlap—but does not mean every currency pair is liquid at every hour. Even an enormous global market can be thin for a particular order, venue or holiday session.
If you trade around central-bank decisions, ask which bank’s session is open, whether the quoted spread has widened, and whether the broker is acting as counterparty. The US CFTC warns that OTC retail forex risks and dealer arrangements deserve careful scrutiny.
Three questions that a turnover chart cannot answer
Did traders profit? The survey does not track the profit or loss of retail accounts. Volume is not a return statistic.
Will EUR/USD rise? No. Currency turnover can rise due to hedging, rebalancing or funding needs in either direction. The survey is backward-looking and cannot identify the next price move.
Was a retail quote executable? No. Institutional market totals tell you nothing about a particular broker’s spread, rejection rates, margin agreement or customer protection. Those require separate evidence.
A better way to use the figures
Use turnover data to frame market structure: recognize spot’s share relative to derivatives, understand the dollar’s intermediary role, and assess why institutional flows differ from retail motives. Then switch from the global chart to your own broker’s actual contract and cost schedule. Our broker comparison framework and spread guide distinguish what is published from what still needs transaction-level proof.
Common mistakes and limits
Do not call USD 9.6 trillion “today’s volume,” sum two currency shares as though they were mutually exclusive, or treat notional turnover as capital at risk. Do not cite the 2025 survey to manufacture current market prices. The source supplies historical aggregates, with defined methodological limits. This article is explanatory, not a real-time market report or trading signal.
