Daily foreign exchange(FX) trading by South Korean banks in 2025 jumped 17 percent year-on-year, hitting a record high on the back of increased cross-border trading.

Data released by the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Friday showed daily average FX trading volume, including derivatives trading, came to 80-point-71 billion U.S. dollars last year, up eleven-point-74 billion dollars from a year earlier.

It marked the highest annual level since the central bank began compiling related data under current statistical standards in 2008.
 
Average daily turnover of FX spot transactions increased by 26-point-one percent to 32-point-38 billion dollars over the cited period, while derivatives trading rose eleven-point-six percent to 48-point-33 billion dollars.
 
The volume of daily FX transactions by domestic banks last year increased 21-point-two percent to an average of 37-point-54 billion dollars, while foreign banks’ local branches saw an increase of 13-point-six percent to 43-point-17 billion dollars.

The BOK attributed the boost in trading volume to extended foreign exchange market trading hours and a sharp increase in stock investment-related trading by local residents and foreign investors.