Why isn't EUR/GBP a major pair?

PipMeHappy · July 10, 2016, 6:51am

Clint:

The 10 most heavily traded individual currencies (in order, based on worldwide trading volume) are:

USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD, CHF, CAD, MXN, CNY, and NZD.

[B]If EUR/GBP is important, because it pairs two currencies which are high on this list,[/B] then EUR/JPY should be even more important, because the JPY out-trades the GBP by a significant margin. Specifically, 23% of currency transactions worldwide involve the JPY, while 11.8% involve the GBP. (Figures from the BIS 2013 Triennial Central Bank Survey, Table 2, page 10.)

Looking at [I]currency pairs, rather than individual currencies,[/I] EUR/GBP ranks tenth in terms of worldwide trading volume.

Here are the top 10 pairs:
EUR/USD
24.1%


USD/JPY
18.3%


GBP/USD
8.8%


AUD/USD
6.8%


USD/CAD
3.7%


USD/CHF
3.4%


EUR/JPY
2.8%


USD/MXN
2.4%


USD/CNY
2.1%


EUR/GBP
1.9%
(Figures from the BIS 2013 Triennial Central Bank Survey, Table 3, page 11.)

.

Nice one, Clint, you are the quickest draw in town