EUR/USD
Euro / US Dollar
The deepest liquidity in foreign exchange, and usually the tightest spread you will be quoted anywhere.
Forex Trading
Forex is the largest financial market in the world by both size and liquidity, roughly $3 trillion changes hands every day. No stock market anywhere trades that volume.
Buying one currency, selling another.
The concept is simple: it is the exchange of one country’s currency for another’s. Because you are always buying one and selling the other, currencies are quoted in pairs, the pound against the dollar is GBP/USD.
Some pairs are far more popular than others. Euro against the dollar, sterling against the dollar, the dollar against the yen and against the Swiss franc are collectively referred to as "the Majors" and carry the bulk of daily flow.
The majors carry the deepest liquidity and the tightest spreads, which is why almost every strategy starts there. Minors and exotics widen out, trade them once you understand what a wider spread does to your position size.
$3TAverage daily volume
24/5Hours per trading day
OTCOver-the-counter market
61Pairs available to trade
The four most popular pairs
01
EUR/USD
Euro / US DollarThe deepest liquidity in foreign exchange, and usually the tightest spread you will be quoted anywhere.
02
GBP/USD
British Pound / US DollarKnown as "Cable". Wider daily ranges than EUR/USD and quick to react to UK data.
03
USD/JPY
US Dollar / Japanese YenDriven by interest rate differentials and by flow during the Asian session.
04
USD/CHF
US Dollar / Swiss FrancThe franc is a traditional safe haven, so this pair often moves on sentiment rather than data.
Open 24 hours, closed only on the weekend
The market opens Sunday evening and closes Friday evening. At almost any hour a financial centre is open somewhere. Times below are GMT, Accra is GMT, Lagos is GMT+1.
| Session | Centre | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | Wellington | 22:00 | 06:00 |
| Pacific | Sydney | 22:00 | 07:00 |
| Asia | Tokyo | 00:00 | 09:00 |
| Asia | Hong Kong | 01:00 | 10:00 |
| Europe | Frankfurt | 07:00 | 16:00 |
| Europe | London | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| Americas | New York | 13:00 | 22:00 |
| Americas | Chicago | 14:00 | 23:00 |
Accra runs on GMT, so these are local times there. Lagos is GMT+1, add an hour. The busiest window for both is the London/New York overlap, 13:00–17:00 GMT.
Markets
Forex Trading
Forex is the largest financial market in the world by both size and liquidity, roughly $3 trillion changes hands every day. No stock market anywhere trades that volume.
The idea
Buying one currency, selling another.
The concept is simple: it is the exchange of one country’s currency for another’s. Because you are always buying one and selling the other, currencies are quoted in pairs, the pound against the dollar is GBP/USD.
Some pairs are far more popular than others. Euro against the dollar, sterling against the dollar, the dollar against the yen and against the Swiss franc are collectively referred to as "the Majors" and carry the bulk of daily flow.
The majors carry the deepest liquidity and the tightest spreads, which is why almost every strategy starts there. Minors and exotics widen out, trade them once you understand what a wider spread does to your position size.
$3TAverage daily volume
24/5Hours per trading day
OTCOver-the-counter market
61Pairs available to trade
Major Pairs
The four most popular pairs
GBP/USD
British Pound / US Dollar
Known as "Cable". Wider daily ranges than EUR/USD and quick to react to UK data.
USD/JPY
US Dollar / Japanese Yen
Driven by interest rate differentials and by flow during the Asian session.
USD/CHF
US Dollar / Swiss Franc
The franc is a traditional safe haven, so this pair often moves on sentiment rather than data.
Market hours
Open 24 hours, closed only on the weekend
The market opens Sunday evening and closes Friday evening. At almost any hour a financial centre is open somewhere. Times below are GMT, Accra is GMT, Lagos is GMT+1.
| Session | Centre | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific | Wellington | 22:00 | 06:00 |
| Pacific | Sydney | 22:00 | 07:00 |
| Asia | Tokyo | 00:00 | 09:00 |
| Asia | Hong Kong | 01:00 | 10:00 |
| Europe | Frankfurt | 07:00 | 16:00 |
| Europe | London | 08:00 | 17:00 |
| Americas | New York | 13:00 | 22:00 |
| Americas | Chicago | 14:00 | 23:00 |
Accra runs on GMT, so these are local times there. Lagos is GMT+1, add an hour. The busiest window for both is the London/New York overlap, 13:00–17:00 GMT.