The Forex market is open 24 hours a day for 5 and ½ days a week continuously with a daily trade of nearly $ 2 trillion. The most common currencies that are traded are US Dollars (USD), Euro (EUR), Swiss Franc (CHF), British Pound (GBP), and Japanese Yen (JPY). These are known as “majors” by the traders. They account for over 85% of the daily Forex transactions. All of these currencies rank highly in their activity and popularity. Other currencies that are traded, though not as frequently as these majors are New Zealand dollar (NZD), Australian dollar (AUD), the ZAR (the south African rand), Canadian dollar (CAD), and the French franc (XPF). These are known as minor currencies and account for between 3% and 7% of the total market volume. All the major and minor currencies taken together represents hard currencies that are currently being traded in the forex market. There is one more term “exotic currency” which is defined as a currency with little liquidity and limited dealing. They are neither a minor nor a major currency. Exotic currencies play a very vital role in the forex market and are almost equally important as all the major currencies. Cross currencies are types of currency pairs in which none of the pair is USD. For example, the pair GBP/JPY, is example of a cross. If it is worth 84.50, it means that one British pound is equal to 84.50 Japanese yen.
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