The foreign exchange market is the most liquid financial market in the world. Traders include large banks, central banks, institutional investors, currency speculators, corporations, governments, other financial institutions,
and retail investors. The average daily turnover in the global foreign
exchange and related markets is continuously growing. According to the
2010 Triennial Central Bank Survey, coordinated by the Bank for
International Settlements, average daily turnover was US$3.98 trillion
in April 2010 (vs $1.7 trillion in 1998).[4] Of this $3.98 trillion, $1.5 trillion was spot transactions and $2.5 trillion was traded in outright forwards, swaps and other derivatives.
In April 2010, trading in the United Kingdom
accounted for 36.7% of the total, making it by far the most important
centre for foreign exchange trading. Trading in the United States
accounted for 17.9% and Japan accounted for 6.2%.[60]
In April 2013, for the first time, Singapore
surpassed Japan in average daily foreign-exchange trading volume with
$383 billion per day. So the rank became: the United Kingdom (41%), the
United States (19%), Singapore (5.7)%, Japan (5.6%) and Hong Kong (4.1%).[61]
Turnover of exchange-traded foreign exchange futures and options have
grown rapidly in recent years, reaching $166 billion in April 2010
(double the turnover recorded in April 2007). Exchange-traded currency
derivatives represent 4% of OTC foreign exchange turnover. Foreign
exchange futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are actively traded relative to most other futures contracts.
Most developed countries permit the trading of derivative products
(like futures and options on futures) on their exchanges. All these
developed countries already have fully convertible capital accounts.
Some governments of emerging markets do not allow foreign exchange derivative products on their exchanges because they have capital controls. The use of derivatives is growing in many emerging economies.[62]
Countries such as South Korea, South Africa, and India have established
currency futures exchanges, despite having some capital controls.
Foreign exchange trading increased by 20% between April 2007 and April 2010 and has more than doubled since 2004.[63]
The increase in turnover is due to a number of factors: the growing
importance of foreign exchange as an asset class, the increased trading
activity of high-frequency traders, and the emergence of retail investors as an important market segment. The growth of electronic execution
and the diverse selection of execution venues has lowered transaction
costs, increased market liquidity, and attracted greater participation
from many customer types. In particular, electronic trading via online
portals has made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign
exchange market. By 2010, retail trading is estimated to account for up
to 10% of spot turnover, or $150 billion per day (see below: Retail foreign exchange traders).
Foreign exchange is an over-the-counter market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, so there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading center is the United Kingdom, primarily London, which according to TheCityUK
estimates has increased its share of global turnover in traditional
transactions from 34.6% in April 2007 to 36.7% in April 2010. Due to
London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price
is usually the London market price. For instance, when the International Monetary Fund calculates the value of its special drawing rights every day, they use the London market prices at noon that day.
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