8 Biggest Pairs

Beginner Questions
1

Hey,

I know what the 4 major pairs are, but what about the 8 biggest? Is there a general “hierachy” of pairs? Which ones get the most action after the major 4?

2

Slane,

I think it’s:

USD
EUR
JPY
GBP
CHF

  • Comdolls:

CAD
AUD
NZD :slight_smile:

And next propably would be Lithuanian litas :smiley:

Thank you, Albinas :slight_smile:

3

… what kind of action are we talking about here?

4

According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), here are the top currency pairs, ranked according to their
percentage shares of world foreign exchange market volume:

EUR/USD – 27%

USD/JPY – 13%

GBP/USD – 12%

AUD/USD — 6%

USD/CHF — 5%

USD/CAD — 4%

USD/SEK — 2%

EUR/JPY ---- 2%

EUR/GBP — 2%

EUR/CHF — 2%

XXX/USD – 19% (this includes all dollar-crosses not listed above, each less than 2% of world volume)

EUR/XXX — 4% (this includes all euro-crosses not listed above, each less than 2% of world volume)

other ------ 4%
________________

Total ---- 100% (total does not equal 100% because of rounding)

These numbers were taken from the 2007 Triennial Central Bank Survey (from the BIS), and they are two-and-a-half years old
at this point. But they are the latest figures available. A new Survey will be issued in December 2010, based on data collected
in April 2010.

5

That’s interesting Clint. Thanks.

I’m quite surprised to see that USD/SEK actually ‘features’ at all i.e. as far as I know it’s considered an exotic (well: if USD/SEK spreads are anything to go by anyway)!!! Even MORE interesting is that it ‘features’ along with EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP, and EUR/CHF!!! I’d be really interested to see updated data on this.

Regards,

Dale.

6

Hi, Dale

Here is another way of viewing the relative “importance” of currencies.

This table (from the BIS 2007 Triennial Central Bank Survey) lists individual currencies (rather than currency pairs) according to their percentage shares of world foreign exchange market volume.

This table might explain the inclusion of the USD/SEK in the list I posted previously. The Swedish krona ranks 8th in the table below, even though it figures in only 2.8% of worldwide foreign exchange transactions.

Notice the explanation for the total of all currencies being 200% (rather than 100%). Also, the definition of “Emerging market currencies” (note 3, at the bottom of the table) is surprising.

662×788

In case you want to see the entire 2007 BIS Survey, I have attached it in .pdf format, below.

Clint

p.s. – On page 50 of the Survey, there is a more extensive version of this table which lists roughly twice as many currencies.

BIS Triennial Survey 2007.pdf (269 KB)

7

Hey thanks Clint. Very nice.

I see even the ZAR ‘gets a mention’. That makes for a refreshing change!!! LOL!!! Not only that: it would appear we’re ‘one up’ on our counterparts in Bulgaria (BGN)!!! LOL!!!

I would have thought that the Rouble would have ranked higher but I guess not (it trends nice though IF you can ‘stomach’ the 1 500 pip spread)!!! LOL!!!

Thanks again.

Dale.

Edit: that is SOME document. Thanks again. I’d like to see the new revision next year for interest sake.

8

There’s something else interesting (on page 15 of the document i.e. ‘Concentration in the banking industry’). Who would have thought that the UK would outrank the US???

Same with ‘Geographical distribution …’.

Is there a reason for this as a matter of interest?

Dale.

9

London has pretty much always outranked NY in forex flows. The big difference seems to be on the swap side of things. A big fraction of the London flows is swap-related, much less so for NY.

10

Thanks John,

I guess it’s just my US equities ‘bias’ i.e. I forget sometimes that there is an entire other WORLD (forex) out there!!! LOL!!! It’s interesting information nonetheless.

Regards,

Dale.