AN INTRODUCTION TO FOREX CURRENCIES

As the biggest market in the world, the foreign exchange market or forex is also one of the most participated in the world. As such, learning about the language of this market is essential and basic knowledge for all aspiring traders. With the market expanding across nations, it’s no wonder that the Forex market is one of the most lucrative endeavors out there. In this tutorial we will be learning the main trading tool of this market: the forex currencies.

The Forex market stands today as the most active among the markets boasting of its size with trading volumes reaching more than $ trillion a day according to a Triennial Central Bank Survey. This market is open 24 hours for five and a half days excluding weekends. This means that the foreign exchange market is open at a different times in each time-zone which includes the major cities of Tokyo, New York, London, Sydney, and Paris where major financial centers are located.

Basically, there are only two trades in the currency market. These are the buy and sell of currency otherwise known as pair. In essence, every currency may be exchange for another however majority of the Forex market revolves only around 8 major currencies: the US Dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), the Japanese Yen (JPY), the British Pound (GBP), the Swiss Franc (CHF), the Canadian Dollar (CAD), the Australian Dollar (AUD), and the New Zealand Dollar (NZD).

The US Dollar is the most traded currencies among the major eight and thus takes the place as the world’s reserve currency. Majority of transactions in the Forex market is made up of a pair that involves the dollar.

In this tutorial we will be tackling the relationship of the dollar with the various major currencies (the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the British Pound, and the Swiss Franc) and the commodity currencies (the Canadian dollar, the Australian Dollar, and the New Zealand Dollar). We will also delve into cross-rate pairs or currency pairing of major currencies that does not include the dollar.