What are the major pairs?
Major pairs are the most traded currency pairs in the world, and each contains the US dollar. Because many people trade them, they usually have the tightest spreads and the smoothest execution. The standard list is:
| Pair | Currencies | Nickname |
|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | Euro / US dollar | Fiber |
| GBP/USD | British pound / US dollar | Cable |
| USD/JPY | US dollar / Japanese yen | Gopher |
| USD/CHF | US dollar / Swiss franc | Swissy |
| USD/CAD | US dollar / Canadian dollar | Loonie |
| AUD/USD | Australian dollar / US dollar | Aussie |
| NZD/USD | New Zealand dollar / US dollar | Kiwi |
If you are new to quotes, bid and ask, read what is forex trading first.
EUR/USD: the benchmark pair
EUR/USD is the price of one euro in US dollars. It reflects two very large economies, the euro area and the United States, so it reacts to data and policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve. It tends to have the lowest spread of all retail instruments at most brokers, and a lot of educational material uses it, which makes it a natural first pair for practice.
Pip example (invented prices). The pair moves from 1.0850 to 1.0890. That is 40 pips. With 0.10 lot, one pip is about 1 USD, so the move is worth about 40 USD for a buyer and a loss of 40 USD for a seller. The formulas are in lots, pips and leverage.
What moves the major pairs
- Interest rate decisions and guidance from central banks. Differences between rates in two economies tend to influence currency demand.
- Inflation reports (CPI) and employment data, especially from the US, such as the monthly non-farm payrolls report.
- Growth data (GDP, purchasing managers' indexes) and trade balances.
- Risk sentiment: in worried markets investors often buy the dollar, yen or Swiss franc as safe currencies.
- Commodity prices: CAD is often linked to oil, and AUD and NZD to metals and agricultural exports.
- Politics and geopolitical events: elections, wars and sanctions.
An important point for beginners: the market often moves on the surprise, not on the news itself. If everyone expected a rate rise and it happens, the price may barely move, or it may even fall. Do not trade the headline blindly.
The personality of each major
- EUR/USD: liquid and relatively smooth, active in the London and New York hours.
- GBP/USD: usually moves more than EUR/USD and can spike on UK news. Costs may be higher.
- USD/JPY: sensitive to US yields and to Japanese policy. The pip is 0.01, so pip value differs from EUR/USD.
- USD/CHF: often moves opposite to EUR/USD, because the euro and the franc are close economic neighbours.
- USD/CAD: reacts to oil and to both US and Canadian data.
- AUD/USD and NZD/USD: sensitive to Asian demand and global risk mood; often active in the Asian session.
These are general tendencies observed over time and they can change. Test them yourself on charts.
Best hours and local time
The forex market runs from Monday to Friday. The busiest period for EUR/USD is the overlap of the London and New York sessions, which in many time zones falls in the afternoon and early evening. If you live in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria or Egypt, convert the sessions to your local time and check the time of the major releases in an economic calendar. Spreads usually widen at the daily rollover and just before and after a big release. Quiet periods can also mean wider spreads and sudden spikes.
Correlation: the hidden double position
Many pairs move together. EUR/USD and GBP/USD often move in the same direction because both have the dollar on the other side. If you buy both, you hold almost the same bet twice. Your risk is then larger than you think. AUD/USD and NZD/USD are even more closely linked. Count correlated trades as one when you calculate risk, as described in risk management.
Worked example: cost and risk on EUR/USD
Invented numbers. Account: 1,000 USD. Risk per trade: 1% (10 USD). Stop-loss: 20 pips. Pip value for 1.00 lot: 10 USD.
lot size = 10 / (20 x 10) = 0.05 lot
The spread is 1.0 pip, which costs 0.05 x 10 x 1.0 = 0.50 USD. So the trade must move more than 1 pip in your favour just to pay for the spread, and your real maximum loss is about 10.50 USD. If your take-profit is 40 pips, the target is worth 20 USD (before costs), giving a risk-reward of about 1:2. This is the kind of calculation you should make before each trade. Learn more about costs in spread, commission and swap.
How to start learning a pair
- Pick one pair, usually EUR/USD, and stay with it for several weeks.
- Study how it behaves in each session and around the main releases.
- Practise with 0.01 lot on a demo account, always with a stop-loss.
- Keep a journal that includes the session, news and your result.
- Only then think about trading real money, with a small balance.
If you are looking for a platform, read the MT4 vs MT5 guide and the Exness review for the costs and warnings.
The interest rate story in plain words
Money tends to move toward currencies that offer higher returns, other things being equal. When the US central bank raises rates and the European central bank does not, the dollar often becomes more attractive and EUR/USD may fall. The reverse can happen when the gap narrows. The market does not wait for the decision. It tries to price in what it expects months ahead, which is why the reaction to the announcement day depends on the surprise relative to expectations. For a beginner, the lesson is to avoid opening trades in the minutes around a rate decision, because the price can swing in both directions and spreads widen.
A quick look at the minor and cross pairs
Pairs without the dollar, such as EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY, are called crosses. They are liquid, but spreads are usually wider than on majors, and some of them, such as GBP/JPY, are known for large daily ranges. Exotic pairs, such as USD/TRY or USD/ZAR, involve smaller or more fragile currencies. They can gap, they have wide spreads and high swap costs, and political events can change the price suddenly. They are not suitable for a first account.
Pip values across the majors
For a 1.00 lot, the pip is worth about 10 USD on pairs where the dollar is the quote currency, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, AUD/USD and NZD/USD. On pairs where the dollar is the base, such as USD/CAD, USD/CHF and USD/JPY, the pip value is calculated in the quote currency and converted back, so it moves slightly with the price. Your platform shows the exact value, and a position size calculator takes the work out of it.
What to journal while you study a pair
Note the session in which each move happened, the news released that day, the average spread, and the distance between the day high and low. After a month you will know the pair far better than any list of facts can teach you. That knowledge is the real benefit of staying with a single pair for a long time.
Practise EUR/USD on an Exness demo
Risk warning
Forex and CFDs are high-risk products, and leverage can magnify losses quickly. Major pairs are liquid, but they can still gap and spike around news. All numbers on this page are invented examples, not forecasts or quotes. Most retail traders lose money. Trade only with funds you can afford to lose entirely, and only if you are 18 or older. This article is education, not personal advice.