July FX volumes beat 2025 levels across three major venues, showing a broad rebound in institutional currency trading despite a modest month‑on‑month dip from June.
CLS reports strong year‑on‑year growth
CLS said its average daily traded volume (ADV) reached $2.658 trillion in July 2026, up 14.7 % from the same month a year earlier. All three of its product categories—FX forwards, swaps and spot—registered increases over the 12‑month period. Forwards led the surge, climbing 18 % to $236 billion, while swaps rose 14.9 % to $1.817 trillion. Spot transactions grew 12.7 % to $605 billion.
When the month‑to‑month picture is examined, CLS’s total ADV fell 5.9 % from June, and every category except spot recorded a decline. The report notes that “July cooled from the previous month but remained significantly higher than the same month last year.” This mixed signal points to a broader trend: activity is up compared with 2025, yet the momentum from June’s peak has softened.
Related: easyMarkets reports cautious trading driven by gold oil
Cboe Global FX and CME also see year‑over‑year gains
Cboe Global FX posted an ADV of $61.071 billion for July, a 25.9 % rise over July 2025’s $48.514 billion. The venue’s figures were down about 5 % from June’s $64.267 billion, mirroring CLS’s month‑to‑month slide. Cboe’s data represent institutional spot FX activity on its trading platform, distinct from CLS’s settlement‑related flows.
CME reported a 9 % increase in its listed FX ADV, reaching 811,000 contracts in July. The exchange also highlighted a 25 % jump in average daily notional value on the EBS spot market, up to $70 billion. Product‑level detail showed Japanese Yen futures ADV climbing 39 % to 184,000 contracts, while FX Link ADV rose 38 % to 55,000 contracts, representing $5.2 billion in notional per leg.
These figures suggest that the FX market’s infrastructure—from settlement systems to institutional venues and listed derivatives—has collectively outperformed its 2025 baseline. Yet the data also reveal a more complex picture: while year‑over‑year growth is evident, the decline from June to July at CLS and Cboe hints that the June surge may have been an outlier rather than a new norm.
Looking ahead, the continuation of this upward trajectory will depend on several factors. Market participants may watch for shifts in global liquidity, central bank policy, and cross‑border payment flows that could either sustain the current level of activity or pull it back toward more typical volumes. The mixed month‑on‑month results serve as a reminder that short‑term fluctuations can mask longer‑term trends.
Related: XTB shares soar despite US Open glitch
In the middle of the reporting period, the data do not reveal any single driver behind the year‑over‑year gains. The spread across different product types and venues suggests that the market’s resilience is broad‑based, rather than reliant on a specific segment. If the trend holds, it could indicate a more stable foundation for FX trading that might cushion future volatility.
Overall, July’s performance across CLS, Cboe and CME points to a healthier institutional FX environment than seen a year ago.
The modest pullback from June, however, cautions against assuming a linear upward path.