The Triennial Central Bank Survey conducted in April 2004 by 52 central banks and monetary authorities and coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) was the second comprehensive assessment of foreign exchange and derivatives market activity since the introduction of the euro in 1999. The preliminary overall statistics published today by the BIS provide information on the use of the euro in foreign exchange and derivatives markets. For the first time, the BIS has also collected separate data for trades conducted in the euro area as a whole. The final overall findings of the survey will be published in spring 2005.

The BIS is today publishing preliminary global results (the BIS press release is available at www.bis.org), while the national central banks of the Eurosystem are releasing their own national results simultaneously.