Major Currency Pairs

The 7 major currency pairs

The major currency pairs are the most traded pairs in the forex market. Each one pairs the US dollar with another major currency. They usually have the tightest spreads and the deepest liquidity.

The US dollar is on one side of the large majority of all forex trades, according to the Bank for International Settlements’ Triennial Survey, and EUR/USD is the most traded pair. Some lists count only the first four (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF) as majors and call AUD/USD, USD/CAD and NZD/USD the “commodity pairs”, because those economies are big commodity exporters.

Cross pairs (minors)

A cross is a pair of two major currencies without the US dollar. The most traded crosses involve the euro, yen or pound:

• Euro crosses: EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF, EUR/AUD, EUR/CAD
• Yen crosses: GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, CAD/JPY, CHF/JPY, NZD/JPY
• Pound crosses: GBP/CHF, GBP/AUD, GBP/CAD

Crosses usually have wider spreads than the majors. Yen crosses such as GBP/JPY are known for large daily ranges.

Exotic pairs

An exotic pairs a major currency with the currency of a smaller or emerging economy, for example USD/TRY (Turkish lira), USD/ZAR (South African rand), USD/MXN (Mexican peso), USD/SGD (Singapore dollar) or EUR/PLN (Polish zloty). Exotics trade less, so spreads and overnight swap costs tend to be much higher, and prices can gap on local news.

Base and quote currency

In EUR/USD, the euro is the base currency and the dollar is the quote currency. A price of 1.0850 means one euro costs 1.0850 dollars. Buying the pair means buying euros and selling dollars. Profit and loss, and the value of a pip, are worked out in the quote currency. See what is a pip and the pip value calculator.

Best times to trade the majors

Liquidity in each pair is highest when the markets of its two currencies are open. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are busiest during the London and New York overlap; USD/JPY and AUD/USD see more activity during the Tokyo and Sydney sessions as well. See the live forex session clock in your time zone.

Before trading, it’s worth checking the calendar for big US releases, which move every major pair: CPI and jobs report dates and Fed meeting dates.

ChartWatch is independent and doesn’t give trading advice. Trading forex on margin carries a high risk of loss.

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