Forex market major, minors, and exotics currency pairs

Major Currency Pairs

The “majors” are those currencies that are the major countries that are paired vs. the U.S. dollar (plus their nick names in parenthesis):

List of currency pairs

• EUR/USD – Euro vs. the U.S. dollar (the Anti-dollar)
• GBP/USD – British pound vs. the U.S. dollar (Sterling, Cable)
• USD/JPY – U.S. dollar vs. the Japanese yen (the Yen)
• USD/CHF – U.S. dollar vs. the Swiss franc (Swissie)
• USD/CAD – U.S. dollar vs. the Canadian dollar (Loonie)
• AUD/USD – Australian dollar vs. the U.S. dollar (Aussie)
• NZD/USD – New Zealand dollar vs. the U.S. dollar (Kiwi or Kiwi dollar)

EUR/USD is the most widely traded pair and therefore carries the absolute highest volume of all currency pairs. It makes up about 27% of forex trading volume. Next is USD/JPY at 13%, followed by GBP/USD at 12% of the total forex trading volume.

Currency Crosses

The “crosses” are those pairs that are not paired vs. the dollar such as:

• EUR/CHF – Euro vs. the Swiss franc
• EUR/JPY – Euro vs. the Japanese yen
• EUR/GBP – Euro vs. the British pound
• EUR/CAD – Euro vs. the Canadian dollar
• EUR/AUD – Euro vs. the Australian dollar
• EUR/NZD – Euro vs. the New Zealand dollar
• GBP/CHF – British pound vs. the Swiss franc
• GBP/JPY – British pound vs. the Japanese yen
• GBP/AUD – British pound vs. the Australian dollar
• CAD/JPY – Canadian dollar vs. the Japanese yen
• AUD/JPY – Australian dollar vs. the Japanese yen
• AUD/CAD – Australian dollar vs. the Canadian dollar
• AUD/NZD – Aussie dollar vs. the New Zealand dollar
• AUD/CHF – Australian dollar vs. the Swiss franc
• NZD/JPY – New Zealand dollar vs. the Japanese yen
• CHF/JPY – Swiss franc vs. the Japanese yen

Exotic Currency Pairs

The “exotics” are those pairs that are emerging economies rather than developed/industrialized nations. Here are a few of the more commonly traded exotics:

• USD/TRY – U.S. dollar vs. the Turkish lira
• EUR/TRY – Euro vs. the Turkish lira
• USD/ZAR – U.S. dollar vs. the South African rand
• USD/MXN – U.S. dollar vs. the Mexican peso
• USD/SGD – U.S. dollar vs. the Singapore dollar

Note:Start with the majors and crosses first. Then as you gain profitability with them, and then you might try the exotics later on. The Exotics Currency Pairs are not the best place to begin as a trader.