Top 6 Most Tradable Currency Pairs

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Updated July 18, 2021
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Suzanne Kvilhaug
Suzanne Kvilhaug
Fact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug
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Suzanne is a researcher, writer, and fact-checker. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Bridgewater State University and has worked on print content for business owners, national brands, and major publications.
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Forex Trades 24 Hours a Day, Five Days a Week

Traders have the luxury of highly leveraged trading with lower margin requirements than in equity markets. But before you jump in headfirst to the fast-paced world of forex, you'll need to know the currency pairs that trade most often.

Here's a look at six of the most tradable currency pairs in forex.

1. EUR/USD

euro dollar
YinYang/Getty Images

The EUR/USD currency pair tends to have a negative correlation with USD/CHF and a positive correlation with the GBP/USD. This is due to the positive correlation of the euro, the British pound, and the Swiss franc.

2. USD/JPY: Trading the "Gopher"

Top 3 Japanese Yen (JPY) ETFs

The next most actively traded pair has traditionally been the USD/JPY. This pair has been sensitive to political sentiment between the United States and the Far East. The pair tends to be positively correlated to the USD/CHF and USD/CAD currency pairs due to the U.S. dollar being the base currency in all three pairs.

3. GBP/USD: Trading the "Cable"

british-pounds.jpg
Maurice van der Velden/E+

The GBP/USD pair tends to have a negative correlation with the USD/CHF and a positive correlation to the EUR/USD. This is due to the positive correlation between the British pound, the Swiss franc, and the euro.

4. AUD/USD: Trading the "Aussie"

Bunch of Australian Hundred Dollar Bills
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The AUD/USD currency pair tends to have a negative correlation with the USD/CAD, USD/CHF, and USD/JPY pairs due to the U.S. dollar being the quote currency in these cases. The correlation with the USD/CAD is also because both the Canadian and Australian dollars share a positive correlation with each other as both are commodity block currencies.

5. USD/CAD: Trading the "Loonie"

Canadian money
Greg Biss/Getty Images

The USD/CAD currency pair tends to be negatively correlated with the AUD/USD, GBP/USD, and EUR/USD pairs due to the U.S. dollar being the quote currency in these other pairs.

6. USD/CNY: Trading the Yuan

Image of Chinese yuan

The USD/CNY currency pair represents the relationship between the US dollar and the Chinese renminbi, more commonly known as the yuan. In recent years, it has represented about 4% of daily forex trades.

The US-China trade relationship has been a volatile one in recent years, providing USD/CNY traders with plenty of speculative opportunities.

Article Sources

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  1. Bank for International Settlements. "Triennial Central Bank Survey." Accessed July 15, 2021.

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