One of the biggest sources of confusion for those new to the currency market is the standard for quoting currencies.

In this section, we'll go over currency quotations and how they work in currency pair trades. Reading a Quote When a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another currency, so that the value of one is reflected through the value of another. Therefore, if you are trying to determine the exchange rate between the U.

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This is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left of the slash is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote or counter currency. The base currency in this case, the U. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies in question. There are two ways to quote a currency pair, either directly or indirectly. A direct currency quote is simply a currency pair in which the domestic currency is the quoted currency; while an indirect quote, is a currency pair where the domestic currency is the base currency.

So if you were looking at the Canadian dollar as the domestic currency and U. The direct quote varies the domestic currency, and the base, or foreign currency, remains fixed at one unit.

In the indirect quote, on the other hand, the foreign currency is variable and the domestic currency is fixed at one unit. For example, if Canada is the domestic currency, a direct quote would be 1. In the forex spot market, most currencies are traded against the U. In these cases, it is called a direct quote. However, not all currencies have the U.

Forex Tutorial: Reading a Forex Quote and Understanding the Jargon

The Queen's currencies - those currencies that historically have had a tie with Britain, such as the British pound, Australian Dollar and New Zealand dollar - are all quoted as the base currency against the U.

The euro, which is relatively new, is quoted the same way as well. In these cases, the U. Most currency exchange rates are quoted out to four digits after the decimal place, with the exception of the Japanese yen JPY , which is quoted out to two decimal places.

Cross Currency When a currency quote is given without the U. These currency pairs expand the trading possibilities in the forex market, but it is important to note that they do not have as much of a following for example, not as actively traded as pairs that include the U. For more on cross currency, see Make The Currency Cross Your Boss.

Bid and Ask As with most trading in the financial markets, when you are trading a currency pair there is a bid price buy and an ask price sell. Again, these are in relation to the base currency. When buying a currency pair going long , the ask price refers to the amount of quoted currency that has to be paid in order to buy one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will sell one unit of the base currency for in relation to the quoted currency.

The bid price is used when selling a currency pair going short and reflects how much of the quoted currency will be obtained when selling one unit of the base currency, or how much the market will pay for the quoted currency in relation to the base currency. The quote before the slash is the bid price, and the two digits after the slash represent the ask price only the last two digits of the full price are typically quoted.

Note that the bid price is always smaller than the ask price. Let's look at an example:. If you want to buy this currency pair, this means that you intend to buy the base currency and are therefore looking at the ask price to see how much in Canadian dollars the market will charge for U. According to the ask price, you can buy one U. However, in order to sell this currency pair, or sell the base currency in exchange for the quoted currency, you would look at the bid price.

Whichever currency is quoted first the base currency is always the one in which the transaction is being conducted. You either buy or sell the base currency. Depending on what currency you want to use to buy or sell the base with, you refer to the corresponding currency pair spot exchange rate to determine the price. Spreads and Pips The difference between the bid price and the ask price is called a spread. If we were to look at the following quote: Although these movements may seem insignificant, even the smallest point change can result in thousands of dollars being made or lost due to leverage.

Again, this is one of the reasons that speculators are so attracted to the forex market; even the tiniest price movement can result in huge profit. The pip is the smallest amount a price can move in any currency quote.

Forex Currency Pairs: Major, Minor, and Exotics Explained

In the case of the U. With the Japanese yen, one pip would be 0. Most currencies trade within a range of to pips a day. Currency Pairs in the Forwards and Futures Markets One of the key technical differences between the forex markets is the way currencies are quoted.

In the forwards or futures markets, foreign exchange always is quoted against the U. This means that pricing is done in terms of how many U. Remember that in the spot market some currencies are quoted against the U. For example, in the spot market, the British pound is quoted against the U. This is the same way it would be quoted in the forwards and futures markets.

Thus, when the British pound strengthens against the U. On the other hand, when looking at the exchange rate for the U. In the spot market, the quote would be for example, which means that one U. Now that you know a little bit about how currencies are quoted, let's move on to the benefits and risks involved with trading forex. Dictionary Term Of The Day. A measure of what it costs an investment company to operate a mutual fund.

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Sophisticated content for financial advisors around investment strategies, industry trends, and advisor education. Reading a Forex Quote and Understanding the Jargon By Investopedia Staff Share. Introduction to Currency Trading Forex Tutorial: What is Forex Trading? Reading a Forex Quote and Understanding the Jargon Forex Tutorial: Foreign Exchange Risk and Benefits Forex Tutorial: Forex History and Market Participants Forex Tutorial: Direct Currency Quote vs.

Indirect Currency Quote There are two ways to quote a currency pair, either directly or indirectly. Let's look at an example: Bid is always smaller than ask. An indirect quote expresses the amount of foreign currency required to buy or sell one unit of the domestic currency in the foreign exchange markets.

Understanding how exchange rates are calculated and shopping around for the best rates may mitigate the effect of wide spreads in the retail forex market.

Making money in the foreign exchange market is a speculative process. You are betting that the value of one currency will increase relative to another. When trading in forex, all currencies are quoted in pairs. Find out how to read these pairs and what it means when you buy and sell them. Trading in the currency market isn't easy.

We tell you what you need to know before starting.

Every currency has specific features that affect its underlying value and price movements in the forex market. Every day, trillions of dollars trade in the forex market. Here are a few of the most popular currencies, and some characteristics for each. Struggling to get a grasp on exchange rates? Here's what you need to know.

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All Rights Reserved Terms Of Use Privacy Policy. Price for which the market maker will buy the base currency.