Major Currency Pairs

The major currency pairs all involve the U.S. dollar on one side of the deal. The designations of the major currencies are expressed using International Standardization Organization (ISO) codes for each currency. Table below lists the most frequently traded currency pairs, what they’re called in conventional terms, and what nicknames the market has given them.

The Major U.S Dollar Currency Pairs
ISO Currency Pairs	Countries	Long Name	Nickname
EUR/USD	Eurozone*/United States	Euro-Dollar	N/A
USD/JPY	United States/Japan	Dollar-Yen	N/A
GBP/USD	United Kingdom/United States	Sterling-Dollar	Sterling or Cable
USD/CHF	United States/Switzerland	Dollar-Swiss	Swissy
USD/CAD	United States/Canada	Dollar-Canada	Loonie
AUD/USD	Australia/United States	Australian-Dollar	Aussie or Oz
NZD/USD	New Zealand/ United States	New Zealand-dollar	Kiwi

*The Eurozone is made up of all the countries in the European Union that have adopted the euro as their currency. The eurozone currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

Currency names and nicknames can be confusing when you’re following the forex market or reading commentary and research. Be sure you understand whether the writer or analyst is referring to the individual currency or the currency pair.

• If a bank or a brokerage is putting out research suggesting that the Swiss franc will weaken in the future, the comment refers to the individual currency, in this case CHF, suggesting that USD/CHF will move higher (USD stronger/CHF weaker).

• If the comment suggests that Swissy is likely to weaken going forward, it's referring to the currency pair and amounts to a forecast that USD/CHF will move lower (USD weaker/CHF stronger).