Institutional FX Volumes Surge in September Amid Rate Hikes

Institutional foreign exchange (FX) trading volumes surged in September, driven by rate hikes from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan (BOJ). The four major FX venues tracked by FinanceMagnates.com reported double-digit growth in spot trading. FXSpotStream reached an all-time high of $179.12 billion in average daily volume (ADV), surpassing its previous peak in March. Euronext FX experienced the fastest growth, with a 21.6% increase from August.

The collective spot ADV across the four venues hit approximately $268 billion, up 18.8% from August's $226 billion. This made September the busiest month since March, when a dollar rally pushed volumes to about $291 billion a day. FXSpotStream, a multibank price-streaming service, reported a total ADV of $179.12 billion across 22 trading sessions, marking a 16.0% increase from August and a 43.0% rise from September 2025.

Cboe FX matched $1.356 trillion in spot trading over the month, with an ADV of $61.64 billion, an 18.9% increase from August. The dollar-yen (USD/JPY) pair led the gains, averaging $7.89 billion a day, up 45.3% from August. The Federal Reserve raised its target range to 3.75%-4.00% on September 16, followed by the BOJ's rate hike to 1.25% two days later, which significantly boosted trading activity.

Euronext FX and 360T also reported double-digit increases, with Euronext FX trading $759.00 billion and 360T processing $930.11 billion in spot. On the exchange side, the Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) saw a 28.2% increase in FX futures contracts, with USD/JPY contracts rising 45.4%. September had 22 trading sessions, contributing to higher monthly totals.