CLS's FX Trade Volume Report - August 2025

The analytics team at CLS Group has reviewed foreign exchange (FX) trading activity for August 2025, comparing the month against prior periods and analyzing daily and hourly trading patterns. This resulted in the August 2025 FX Market Trading Report, which covers data from the FX spot, swap, and outright forward markets.

August Market Overview

Compared to the same period last year, overall FX trading volumes increased by 8.4%. Average daily traded volumes in August 2025 reached USD 2.37 trillion, up 2.1% from July.

By product:

• FX swaps rose 12.1% YoY, contributing USD 1.627 trillion;

• Spot trades declined 6.0% YoY, totaling USD 517 billion;

• Outright forwards surged 22.7% YoY, reaching USD 222 billion.

FIG 1. Average daily volume (USD billions) by product in August 2025 vs July 2025 and August 2024

FIG 2. Average daily volume (USD billions) by product each month over the past four years

The data highlights a continued long-term uptrend in FX swaps and outright forwards, while spot trading volumes remain under pressure, despite signs of stabilization in recent months.

Granular Analysis

Spot Market

Spot volumes in August 2025 fell 6% compared to the previous year. However, several currency pairs showed notable year-on-year growth, including EURUSD (+13%), USDHKD (+97%), and USDCAD (+47%).

The busiest trading day was Friday, 29 August, when spot FX volumes reached USD 811 billion.

• EURUSD peaked at USD 246 billion;

• GBPUSD reached USD 110 billion;

• USDJPY traded USD 128 billion.

FIG 3. Daily spot volumes peaked on Friday, 29 August

Hourly Activity

As in prior months, hourly spot trading displayed the three characteristic peaks across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The busiest hour occurred at 16:00 London time on 29 August, with USD 143 billion traded.

FIG 4. Hourly spot volumes peaked at 16:00 on 29 August

Conclusion

August 2025 data showed a divergence across product classes, with robust growth in swaps and forwards but continued weakness in spot trading. The daily and hourly breakdown highlights 29 August as the focal point of activity, underscoring the global rhythm of FX markets across major trading hubs.

​CLS's Notes on the Data

The data in this report is based on trades submitted to the CLS settlement and aggregation services. The data is adjusted to align with the reporting standards of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the semi-annual FX committee reports. These figures report only one side of each transaction and only the far leg of FX swap trades to avoid double counting. Trade time is determined using only matched trades, with the earlier of the two submission times used as a proxy. CLS receives confirmation on most trades within two minutes of execution.