Market sentiment heated up significantly in March, with forex trading activities among major global financial institutions showing strong growth momentum. Most core platforms recorded their best single-month performance since early 2026. Against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical uncertainty, safe-haven demand pushed up the US dollar exchange rate, driving trading volumes across the entire forex market higher.

From the perspective of liquidity aggregation data, the average daily total transaction value for the month reached $173.6 billion, representing a 14.5% increase over February levels and setting a new monthly high for the year. The average daily size of spot transactions rebounded from over $105 billion last month to $127.92 billion, indicating a substantive recovery in market activity. Although March had two additional trading days compared to February, the counter-trend rise in daily averages ruled out the influence of simple calendar effects, confirming that risk appetite has not experienced a structural cooling. Data from another large options exchange was equally bright; its total spot transaction volume accumulated to $1.638 trillion over 22 trading days, with a daily average breaking through $74.4 billion. This not only surpassed early-year performance, but the year-on-year increase compared to the same period last year also reached approximately 43%. Unlike last March's market conditions driven mainly by a weakening dollar, institutional capital flows this time were ignited more by expectations of a strengthening dollar.

Trading platforms in the European market also completed their recovery steps. The monthly turnover of electronic channels under the Deutsche Börse rose to $1.076 trillion, with the daily average growing over 20% month-on-month, a level far exceeding the same period last year. During the same period, the daily trading volume of FX business at Euronext hit a 2026 high, increasing significantly from February, causing the daily volume gap between the two platforms to narrow slightly this month. In Asia, the number of contracts at the Tokyo Financial Exchange grew 12.6% month-on-month. Although year-on-year figures appeared slightly weak due to base effects, the changes in trading structure are worth noting. Contract volumes for offshore RMB against the Japanese yen surged over 30% month-on-month, and participation in EUR-USD also expanded significantly due to lower base figures. While USD-JPY remains the most active contract as a traditional hot product, year-on-year data has shown a decline, reflecting the recent market characteristic where Japanese yen cross rates generally see lighter trading.