Press release
Results of the Semi-annual Survey of Foreign
Exchange and
Interest Rate Market Activity in Hong Kong
(October 2018)
The
Treasury Markets Association (TMA) announced today (Tuesday) the results of the
Semi-annual Survey of Foreign Exchange and Interest Rate Market Activity in
Hong Kong in October 2018, which covers turnover in both FX transactions and
over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives transactions. The TMA conducted the semi-annual survey to
increase the transparency of the Hong Kong foreign exchange and
over-the-counter interest rate derivatives market.
The
semi-annual survey is developed based on the Bank for International Settlements
triennial survey on foreign exchange and derivatives market turnover [1], but with
simplified reporting requirements.
Reporting basis of the semi-annual survey is the same as that of the
triennial survey, i.e. primarily the location of the sales desk servicing the
transactions. The 59 financial
institutions (comprising 55 authorized institutions and 4 licensed
corporations) taking part in the triennial survey in April 2016 participated in
the semi-annual survey in October 2018.
To safeguard data confidentiality, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority
provided support in data handling and survey administration.
Foreign exchange
turnover
In
October 2018, average daily turnover of foreign exchange transactions decreased
by 2.3% to US$471.0 billion, as compared with the results of the survey for
April 2018. The slowdown was mainly
attributable to falls in outright forwards and foreign exchange swaps. US dollar and Renminbi became the most
heavily traded currency pair in the Hong Kong market, followed by Hong Kong
dollar and US dollar, and then US dollar and Japanese yen.
Interest rate market
turnover
In
October 2018, average daily turnover of interest rate derivatives increased by
74.2% to US$229.7 billion, as compared with the results of the survey for April
2018. The growth was primarily driven by
an increase in interest rate swaps.
Trading was most active in contracts denominated in Australian dollar,
followed by US dollar and then New Zealand dollar.
Annex
The
TMA collaborated with the Australian Foreign Exchange Committee, the Canadian
Foreign Exchange Committee, the New York Foreign Exchange Committee, the
Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee, the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market
Committee, and the United Kingdom’s Foreign Exchange Joint Standing Committee,
which conducted similar surveys over the same time period for respective
markets. The results of their surveys
can be found at
https://www.afxc.rba.gov.au/statistics
https://www.cfec.ca/fx_volume.html
https://www.newyorkfed.org/fxc/volumesurvey/
https://www.sfemc.org/statistics.asp
https://www.fxcomtky.com/index_e.html
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/markets/london-foreign-exchange-joint-standing-committee
Treasury
Markets Association
22
January 2019
[1] The Hong Kong result of the April 2016 Bank for International Settlements triennial survey can be found at https://www.hkma.gov.hk/eng/key-information/press-releases/2016/20160901-3.shtml
| 
