What are the Six Major

Forex Currency Pairs

There are six major currency pairs in the Forex market place; they are comprised from the seven major world currencies. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Great Britain Pound / United States Dollar – Symbol is GBP/USD
2. Australian Dollar / United States Dollar – Symbol is AUD/USD
3. Euro / United States Dollar – Symbol is EUR/USD
4. United States Dollar / Swiss Franc – Symbol is USD/CHF
5. United States Dollar / Japanese Yen – Symbol is USD/JPY
6. United States Dollar / Canadian Dollar – Symbol is USD/CAD

These are the six major pairs of world currency used primarily in the Foreign Exchange marketplace.

Why are these the six major pairs?

It all has to do with volume.  These are the most actively moved (traded) currencies in the world.  Their paring is significant and the trading volumes total to the millions of dollars every day.   These are generally the most suitable pairs for trading, especially for beginner traders.  There are several reasons, starting with the lower spreads that are available on these pairs.  The more liquid a currency pair is, the lower the spread typically is.

What is the spread?  The spread basically is the difference of the ‘bid’ and the ‘ask’ price, or in other words, this is how brokerages earn their commissions.  A typical spread on a major pair is between one pip and three pips (though sometimes upwards of four pips).  This is at the discretion of the broker primarily, but relates also very closely with the liquidity of the pair, as mentioned.

What is the importance of these six major pairs?

These six major pairs should always be the starting point for the novice trader just learning a good Forex trading system.  These pairs will give the largest number of opportunities (trade setups) for trade placements and are idea for Forex day trading.  Most Forex trading systems will recommend to their students that they trade these pairs, and for good cause.  There are more than enough opportunities in these six major pairs to provide for a full-time trader.