UK Foreign Exchange Market Survey Shows Mixed Turnover Results for October 2025

The Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee (FXJSC) released findings from its semi-annual turnover survey conducted in October 2025. Twenty-five financial institutions operating in the United Kingdom's foreign exchange market contributed data for this report. Results indicate that average daily UK FX turnover reached $3,850 billion during the survey period, marking a 5% decline compared to April 2025 figures but representing a 20% increase from October 2024 levels. This pattern aligns with historical trends where October surveys typically show lower activity than those conducted in April. Several instrument categories experienced decreases, with FX spot transactions dropping from $1,293 billion to $1,059 billion between the two 2025 surveys. FX options and outright forwards also saw reductions, while FX swaps increased by 18% to $1,840 billion. The USD/EUR currency pair maintained its position as the most actively traded in the UK market, accounting for 23% of total turnover at $901 billion daily. USD/JPY and USD/GBP pairs followed similar patterns to previous surveys. Since October 2008, overall UK FX turnover has more than doubled from $1,697 billion. The FXJSC, established in 1973, serves as a collaborative forum for market participants, infrastructure providers, and UK authorities to address structural and operational matters in the wholesale foreign exchange sector. The committee maintains two specialized sub-groups: the Operations Sub-Committee (formed in 2002) comprising operations managers from major banks and regulatory representatives, and the Legal Sub-Committee (established in 2004) consisting of legal professionals from financial institutions and regulatory bodies. Similar surveys were conducted concurrently by foreign exchange committees in New York, Singapore, Tokyo, Canada, and Australia. The FXJSC data collection differs from the Bank for International Settlements Triennial Survey in both frequency and reporting methodology, with FXJSC focusing on price-setting dealer locations rather than sales desk locations.