Media Release Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Markets

In April 2013, the Reserve Bank conducted a survey of activity in foreign exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives markets in Australia. This was part of a global survey of 53 jurisdictions, coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Similar surveys have been conducted every three years since 1989.

Globally, the Australian dollar remains the fifth most traded currency, with its share of turnover increasing by one percentage point to around 8½ per cent. The AUD/USD remains the fourth most traded currency pair, having also accounted for an increased share of global turnover over the three-year period. There was a marked increase in global turnover of the USD/JPY currency pair, which increased by around 70 per cent between April 2010 and April 2013.

Activity in Australia's foreign exchange market has moderated since the previous survey in April 2010. Total turnover fell by around 5 per cent, in contrast to a 35 per cent increase in global turnover over the same period. As a result, the Australian foreign exchange market is now the eighth largest in the world, compared with seventh at the time of the previous survey. The United Kingdom's foreign exchange market experienced the largest increase in foreign exchange turnover over the three-year period, recording a 4 percentage point increase in global market share.

Activity in Australian OTC interest rate derivatives markets rose strongly over the three-year period, reflecting growth in turnover of both forward rate agreements and interest rate swaps.

The preliminary results of the global turnover survey and links to other participating jurisdictions' results are available from the BIS website. More detailed results for the Australian market are available on the 2013 BIS Triennial Survey Results – Australia page.

The BIS will also publish global data on outstanding OTC derivatives as at June 2013 in November.
The Reserve Bank will publish Australian data on outstanding OTC derivatives at that time.