Forex Exchange Rates

About the Foreign Exchange Market

Forex is the global market for trading currencies, where one currency is quoted against another as a pair such as EUR/USD. The first currency is the base and the second is the quote, so a rate shows how much of the quote currency is needed to buy one unit of the base. The forex market is the largest and most liquid financial market in the world and trades around the clock, five days a week, across major sessions in Sydney, Tokyo, London, and New York.

Major, Cross, and Emerging Pairs

Major pairs all include the US dollar and are the most heavily traded, such as EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and USD/JPY. Cross pairs exclude the dollar, like EUR/GBP and EUR/JPY. Emerging-market pairs, such as USD/INR or USD/MXN, tend to be more volatile and carry wider spreads. Exchange rates move in response to interest rates, inflation, economic data, and central-bank policy.