South Korea’s Share at 0.7%, Rises to 14th Place
Up One Notch from Three Years Ago
The average daily trading volume in the global foreign exchange market reached 9.6 trillion US dollars, marking an increase of nearly 30% compared to three years ago. This surge is the result of heightened volatility following US tariff policies. Among these transactions, South Korea accounted for 0.7% of the total. In the ranking of surveyed countries, South Korea rose by one notch to 14th place compared to three years ago.
According to the results of the 2025 global foreign exchange and over-the-counter derivatives market survey (trading volume section), conducted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and released by the Bank of Korea on October 1, the average daily trading volume in the global foreign exchange market in April 2025 was 9.6 trillion dollars. This represents a 28.5% increase from the previous survey in April 2022 (7.5 trillion dollars). When applying the April exchange rate to past survey results to account for exchange rate fluctuations, the trading volume increased by 31.3%. This growth is attributed to increased trading activity following high exchange rate volatility after the announcement of US tariff policies in early April.
Spot foreign exchange transactions (3 trillion dollars) rose by 41.8%, and their share in the overall foreign exchange market expanded from 27.9% to 30.8%. Foreign exchange swap transactions (4 trillion dollars) grew by only 4.9%, resulting in their share shrinking from 50.9% to 41.5%. However, they still accounted for the largest portion of the market by trading volume. Forward transactions (1.8 trillion dollars) and currency swaps (200 billion dollars) increased by 59.5% and 38.9%, respectively.
By currency (total share 200%), the share of transactions involving the US dollar rose from 88.4% in 2022 to 89.2% this year, maintaining a high level. The euro (30.6% to 28.9%) and the British pound (12.9% to 10.2%) saw their shares decline. The share of the Chinese yuan (7.0% to 8.5%) increased, while the Japanese yen (16.7% to 16.8%) remained at a similar level. Compared to 2019 (4.3%), the share of the Chinese yuan nearly doubled. The share of the Korean won remained steady at 1.8%, with its ranking unchanged at 12th place from the previous survey.
By country, foreign exchange trading was concentrated in the top four countries: the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. These countries accounted for over 75% of total global foreign exchange trading. The average daily trading volume in South Korea’s foreign exchange market was 85.72 billion dollars, up 26.5% from April 2022 (67.75 billion dollars). South Korea’s share of the global foreign exchange market was 0.7%, and its ranking among the surveyed countries rose by one notch to 14th place compared to April 2022 (15th place).
In April 2025, the average daily trading volume in the global over-the-counter interest rate derivatives market was 7.9 trillion dollars, a 58.6% increase from April 2022 (5 trillion dollars). When considering exchange rate fluctuations, the trading volume increased by 59.2%. The previous survey had shown the first decline since the survey began in 1995 due to the discontinuation of the Libor interest rate, but this time, the trend reversed to an increase.
In South Korea, the average daily trading volume in the over-the-counter interest rate derivatives market was 14.59 billion dollars, up 34.7% from April 2022 (10.83 billion dollars). South Korea’s share of the global over-the-counter interest rate derivatives market was 0.2%, and its ranking among the surveyed countries dropped by one notch to 18th place compared to April 2022 (17th place).
Meanwhile, the BIS conducts a global market survey every three years with central banks worldwide to systematically and comprehensively collect information on the size and structure of the global foreign exchange and over-the-counter derivatives markets. The results of the ‘global foreign exchange and over-the-counter derivatives market outstanding amounts survey’ as of the end of June 2025 are scheduled to be released additionally next month.
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