Markets

Forwards Trading Beats Spot at FMDQ Weekly FX Market

Forwards Trading Beats Spot at FMDQ Weekly FX Market
Frontier Africa Reports By Frontier Africa Reports • August 17, 2026 at 12:57 PM GMT+1

Kindly see commentary below on the Foreign Exchange (FX) market with data for the week-ended August 14, 2026. Table 1 compares weekly turnover for trades between banks (FMDQ Dealing Member (Banks)/Authorised Dealers) and their clients for the weeks-ended August 7 and 14, 2026.

  •  In the FX Spot and Derivatives markets, the total turnover for the week-ended August 14, 2026, was $2,054.89 million, representing a decrease of 44.90% ($1,674.55 million) from the $3,729.44 million reported for the week-ended August 7, 2026. The week-on-week (WoW) decrease in total turnover was driven by the 46.98% ($1,740.44 million) decrease in FX Spot transactions, despite the 263.56% ($65.89 million) increase in FX Derivatives transactions for the week-ended August 14, 2026 (See Table 1)
  •  The WoW increase in FX Derivatives turnover was driven by the 263.56% ($65.89 million) increase in FX Forwards turnover 

Table 1: Weekly FX Turnover Analysis  

  Week-ended August 14, 2026 Week-ended August 7, 2026 WoW
% Change		 WoW
Change
($'mm)
Weekly Daily
Average		 %
Share		 Weekly Daily
Average		 % Share
($'million) ($'million)    
FX Spot 1,964.00 443.22 95.58 3,704.44 740.89 99.33 (46.98) (1,740.44)
FX Forwards 90.89 18.18 4.42 25.00 5.00 0.67 263.56 65.89
FX Derivatives 90.89 18.18 4.42 25.00 5.00 0.67 263.56 65.89
Total 2,054.89 461.40 100.00 3,729.44 745.89 100.00 (44.90) (1,674.55)