A currency pairA currency pair is the price of one currency in relation to... More is the priceWhat are value stocks? A value company is a company that app... More of one currency in relation to another. CurrencyWhat is currency? Currencies are the generally accepted medi... More pairs are traded on the foreign exchange market.
Currencies are always traded in pairs, so if you buy one currency you will automatically be selling another and vice versa.
For example, if you decide to buy EUR/USDEUR/USD is a currency pair consisting of the euro and t... More, you purchase euros and pay for them with US dollars. If you close your position, you sell your euros and automatically purchase back the US dollars.
The first currency in a currency pair is called the base currencyWhat is a base currency versus a quote currency? The base c... More. The second currency is called the quote currencyWhat is a quote currency compared to a base currency? The q... More.
Trading currency pairs
To start learning how to trade currencies, we recommend our forex beginner strategy:
What are the major currency pairs?
The major currency pairs all contain the US dollar and are the most traded pairs on the forex marketWhat are value stocks? A value company is a company that app... More. For this reason they are very liquid.
Shortcut currencies FX jargon
| Shortcut | Currencies | FX jargon |
| EUR/USD | euro/US dollar | euro |
| USD/JPY | US dollar/Japanese yen | yen |
| GBP/USD | pound/US dollar | CableCable is the nickname for the currency pair of the Briti... More |
| USD/CHF | US dollar/Swiss franc | SwissyWhat is the "Swissy"? Swissy is the nickname for the curre... More |
| USD/CAD | US dollar/Canadian dollar | LoonieLoonie is the nickname for: • the currency of Canada, ... More |
| AUD/USD | Australian dollar/US dollar | Aussie"Aussie" is the nickname AUD/USD, the currency pair comp... More |
| NZD/USD | New ZealandNew Zealand is a small island country close to Australia. ... More dollar/US dollar | KiwiKiwi is the nickname for the currency pair NZD/USDcompris... More |
Major cross currency pairs
When a pair contains two of the major currencies, but not the USD, it is considered to be a cross-currency pair. The most commonly traded cross currency pairs are a combination of EUR, JPY and GBP.
Euro crosses
Shortcut currencies
| Shortcut | Currencies |
| EUR/CHFEUR/CHF is a currency pair, one of the "euro crosses". The... More | euro/Swiss franc |
| EUR/GBPEUR/GBP is the currency pair of the two largest European... More | euro/pound sterling |
| EUR/CADEUR/CAD is a currency pair, one of the "euro crosses". The... More | euro/Canadian dollar |
| EUR/AUD | euro/Australian dollar |
| EUR/NZD | euro/New Zealand dollar |
Yen crosses
| Shortcut | Currencies |
| EUR/JPYEUR/JPY is a currency pair. Its base currency is the eu... More | euro/Japanese yen |
| GBP/JPYGBP/JPY is one of the more liquid currency pairs, because... More | Pound sterling/Japanese yen |
| CHF/JPYCHF/JPY is a currency pair, one of the "yen crosses". It i... More | Swiss franc/Japanese yen |
| CAD/JPYCAD/JPY is a currency pair, one of the "yen crosses". It i... More | The Canadian dollar/Japanese yen |
| AUD/JPY | Australian dollar/Japanese yen |
| NZD/JPYNZD/JPY is a currency pair, one of the "yen crosses". It is ... More | New Zealand dollar/Japanese yen |
Pound crosses
| Shortcut | Currencies |
| GBP/CHFGBP/CHF is a currency pair, one of the "pound crosses". Th... More | pound sterling/Swiss franc |
| GBP/AUD | pound sterling/Australian dollar |
| GBP/CAD | pound sterling/Canadian dollar |
| GBP/NZD | pound sterling/New Zealand dollar |
Other crosses
| Shortcut | Currencies |
| AUD/CHF | Australian dollar/Swiss franc |
| AUD/CAD | Australian dollar/Canadian dollar |
| AUD/NZDAUD/NZD is the currency pair comprised of the Australian ... More | Australian dollar/New Zealand dollar |
| CAD/CHF | The Canadian dollar/Swiss franc |
| NZD/CHF | New Zealand dollar/Swiss franc |
| NZD/CAD | New Zealand dollar/Canadian dollar |
The exotic pairs
Exotic pairs are the combination between one major currency and another currency that is not a major. The major currency is usually paired with a currency from an emerging economy, such as BrazilThe Federative Republic of Brazil is a country in South Am... More, Mexico, IndiaIndia is a country in South Asia and, by population, the 2n... More or South AfricaSouth Africa is the largest economy in Africa. Its currenc... More, or a smaller, less economically strong country, such as the Czech Republic or Norway.
They are not as frequently traded as major or cross pairs, so the brokerWhat is an online broker? In online trading, a broker is a ... More could charge a wider spreadWhat are trading spreads? In online trading, spread is the d... More.
Examples of exotic pairs that are usually offered by brokers:
Shortcut currencies
| Shortcut | Currencies |
| USD/HKD | US dollar/Hong Kong dollar |
| USD/SGD | US dollar/Singapore dollar |
| USD/ZAR | US dollar/South African rand |
| USD/THB | US dollar/Thailand baht |
| USD/MXN | US dollar/Mexican peso |
| USD/DKK | US dollar/Danish krone |
| USD/SEK | US dollar/Swedish krone |
| USD/NOK | US dollar/Norwegian krone |
Further reading
To learn more about the economic impact on currency pairs, visit our lesson on currency correlation.
