North American foreign exchange trading volume jumped 21% in October from a year earlier, according to a semi-annual survey by the New York Federal Reserve.

Average daily foreign exchange trading volume in North America hit a record high $976.7 billion in October. It was a 14% increase from a revised $855.5 billion in April 2011, the period when the survey was last taken.

Spot-market trading accounted for more than half of the total trading volume amid a big spike in euro-dollar trading. Spot-market trading totaled $564.5 billion a day in October, according to the report. Currency derivatives activity was down slightly from April, though still up from a year earlier.

Fears of a collapse of the euro because of the region's ongoing debt crisis added to market volatility late last year, likely drawing interest of foreign exchange traders.

Both dollar-Swiss franc and dollar-yen trading were down sharply in October from April, amid the threat of further intervention from the Swiss National Bank and Bank of Japan. The Bank of Japan stepped into the market to weaken the yen in August, and the threat of further action loomed in the lead up to another intervention Oct. 31. The SNB set an exchange rate floor against the euro that has damped trading in all franc currency pairs.

Foreign exchange swap transactions fell 1% from April to October, but were up 12% from a year earlier. Forward transactions rose 1% from April to October and were up 11% from October 2010.

Over-the-counter options fell 4% between April and October, but it rose 21% year-over-year.