Base and quote currency

A currency pair comprises of a base currency and a quote currency (or counter currency) and is a way of displaying and pricing one currency against another to be used to make a trade.

Currency pairs are normally shown as two abbreviated currency names, separated by a slash. 

Major currency pairs

The most commonly traded currency pairs in the world are called the majors. These include the euro, US dollar, pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, Japanese yen and Australian dollar.

Every major currency pair has the US dollar on one side for a good reason. The dollar is the world’s leading reserve currency and is involved in about 88% of currency trades.