Saturday, July 30, 2011

Currencies Are Traded in Pairs

Forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling another. Currencies are traded through a broker or dealer, and are traded in pairs; for example the euro and the U.S. dollar (EUR/USD) or the British pound and the Japanese yen (GBP/JPY).
When you trade in the forex market, you buy or sell in currency pairs.



Tug of war



Imagine each pair constantly in a "tug of war" with each currency on its own side of the rope. Exchange rates fluctuate based on which currency is stronger at the moment.

Major Currency Pairs

The currency pairs listed below are considered the "majors". These pairs all contain the U.S. dollar (USD) on one side and are the most frequently traded. The majors are the most liquid and widely traded currency pairs in the world.

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
EUR/USDEuro zone / United States"euro dollar"
USD/JPYUnited States / Japan"dollar yen"
GBP/USDUnited Kindom / United States"pound dollar"
USD/CHFUnited States/ Switzerland"dollar swissy"
USD/CADUnited States / Canada"dollar loonie"
AUD/USDAustralia / United States"aussie dollar"
NZD/USDNew Zealand / United States"kiwi dollar"

Major Cross-Currency Pairs or Minor Currency Pairs

Currency pairs that don't contain the U.S. dollar (USD) are known as cross-currency pairs or simply as the "crosses." Major crosses are also known as "minors." The most actively traded crosses are derived from the three major non-USD currencies: EUR, JPY, and GBP.

Euro Crosses

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
EUR/CHFEuro zone / Switzerland"euro swissy"
EUR/GBPEuro zone / United Kingdom"euro pound"
EUR/CADEuro zone / Canada"euro loonie"
EUR/AUDEuro zone / Australia"euro aussie"
EUR/NZDEuro zone / New Zealand"euro kiwi"

Yen Crosses

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
EUR/JPYEuro zone / Japan"euro yen" or "yuppy"
GBP/JPYUnited Kingdom / Japan"pound yen" or "guppy"
CHF/JPYSwitzerland / Japan"swissy yen"
CAD/JPYCanada / Japan"loonie yen"
AUD/JPYAustralia / Japan"aussie yen"
NZD/JPYNew Zealand / Japan"kiwi yen"

Pound Crosses

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
GBP/CHFUnited Kingdom / Switzerland"pound swissy"
GBP/AUDUnited Kingdom / Australia"pound aussie"
GBP/CADUnited Kingdom / Canada"pound loonie"
GBP/NZDUnited Kingdom / New Zealand"pound kiwi"

Other Crosses

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
AUD/CHFAustralia / Switzerland"aussie swissy"
AUD/CADAustralia / Canada"aussie loonie"
AUD/NZDAustralia / New Zealand"aussie kiwi"
CAD/CHFCanada / Switzerland"loonie swissy"
NZD/CHFNew Zealand / Switzerland"kiwi swissy"
NZD/CADNew Zealand / Canada"kiwi loonie"


Exotic Pairs

Exotic Belly Dancers No, exotic pairs are not exotic belly dancers who happen to be twins. Exotic pairs are made up of one major currency paired with the currency of an emerging economy, such as Brazil, Mexico, or Hungary. The chart below contains a few examples of exotic currency pairs. Wanna take a shot at guessing what those other currency symbols stand for?

Depending on your forex broker, you may see the following exotic pairs so it's good to know what they are. Keep in mind that these pairs aren't as heavily traded as the "majors" or "crosses," so the transaction costs associated with trading these pairs are usually bigger.

PairCountriesFX Geek Speak
USD/HKDUnited States / Hong Kong
USD/SGDUnited States / Singapore
USD/ZARUnited States / South Africa"dollar rand"
USD/THBUnited States / Thailand"dollar baht"
USD/MXNUnited States / Mexico"dollar peso"
USD/DKKUnited States / Denmark"dollar krone"
USD/SEKUnited States / Sweden
USD/NOKUnited States / Norway

It isn't unusual to see spreads that are two or three times bigger than that of EUR/USD or USD/JPY. So if you want to trade exotics pairs, remember to factor this in your decision.

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