- Global demand for Asian currency risk management drove record volumes
SGX Group (Singapore Exchange) has again been named the “World’s Best FX Exchange” at the Euromoney Foreign Exchange Awards 2026, reinforcing its position as a leading global marketplace for managing currency risk.
As Asia plays an increasingly influential role in global capital flows and currency markets, SGX has become the exchange where market participants worldwide come to manage Asian FX risk. Amid heightened market volatility, investors turned to SGX round the clock, concentrating liquidity and driving record trading activity.
Over the award review period[1], total FX futures volume rose 19.3% year-on-year to US$5.89 trillion, with a peak monthly record of US$766 billion in March 2026. This momentum was anchored by flagship USD/CNH futures and INR/USD futures, with fast-growing leadership in other currency pairs such as KRW/USD, TWD/USD and THB/USD.
A key strength of SGX’s FX franchise is its combination of listed and OTC markets. Its benchmark FX futures sit alongside OTC execution and workflow capabilities through BidFX, MaxxTrader and SGX CurrencyNode, giving participants greater flexibility across execution and clearing. Solutions such as Exchange for Related Positions (EFRP) further connects the two markets, enabling clients to transfer OTC positions into SGX-cleared futures for enhanced capital efficiency.
Janice Kan, Managing Director and Head of Derivatives, SGX Group, said, “FX is increasingly about connecting liquidity, technology and risk management across a more integrated market ecosystem. As trading and liquidity flow across both listed and OTC venues, institutional clients are seeking greater flexibility in how they execute and manage risk. Our focus has been to bring these capabilities together to deliver more efficient, seamless and resilient trading and hedging solutions.”
SGX has also expanded the ways investors can manage currency risks, launching micro-TWD contracts and Brazilian Real futures. In their debut month, BRL futures achieved a daily average volume of US$214 million, while the micro-TWD contracts reached approximately 1,000 lots in daily average volume within two months of launch. This expanded product shelf is supported by regular market research and resources for market participants including Aggregated Exposure Reports (AERs) that provide insight into participant positioning, market structure and liquidity conditions across our listed FX futures markets.
KC Lam, Head of FX Derivatives, SGX Group, said, “Effective market structure is about creating deeper liquidity, better price discovery and more efficient risk transfer. We are giving clients more precision in how they hedge, strengthening liquidity across different maturities and making it easier to execute when markets move quickly.”
[1] For the period from 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026
