A recent British survey on forex trading indicates a decline on all instruments

The Bank of England recently released the main results of a recent survey of financial institutions active in the UK foreign exchange market. In April, 26 financial institutions active in the UK participated in the Forex Joint Standing Committee (FXJSC) biannual revenue survey.

The UK's reported average daily forex turnover was $2.411 billion per day in April, down 15% from records set last year, and 15% compared to the April survey also.

The survey reveals that constant decreases were observed for all instruments. Currency swaps and currency swaps saw the largest relative declines, $289 billion (-19%) and $14.9 billion (-36%) respectively, both of which saw average daily sales record in the October survey. Spot activity also declined, with average daily revenue of $676 billion, a 9.9% decline from the previous October benchmark.

Compared to last year, similar declines were observed for the spot market (-13.8%) and currency swaps (-16%). Currency options and NDFs also declined compared to the May 2019 survey, while currency swaps edged up (4.8%).

All major currency pairs have seen their average daily volume decline since the last survey in October of last year. The British pound has fallen more than most other currencies, with average daily turnover for the USD/GBP and EUR/GBP down $137 billion (-31.9%) and $24.6 billion (-29.9%) respectively, as these two currencies peaked in October, the USD/JPY returned to being the second most traded currency pair, with an average daily turnover of $313.4 billion (-5.8% compared to last October).