Volume of data

Because of the lack of a central authority to collect data on each and every trade, it is impossible for anybody to acquire accurate figures for volume, or the exact number and value of FX transactions that take place each day. Traders can certainly tell reasonably well whether the market is busy or quiet (especially if they sit on an inter-bank trading desk), and those who have access to the tightly controlled data of the major electronic trading platforms will also have a good idea of the broad level of activity in the market, but there is no single authoritative agency that brings all this information together in one place. Nor is there likely to be — the companies that control the major trading platforms would be very reluctant to give....