Forex FAQs - What is the Most Traded Currency Pair?

When people begin trading, there want to be where the action is. This makes sense as a heavily traded currency is likely to have a lot of data to analyze (fundamental and technical) and less issues with slippage. But what is the most traded currency pair?

Ranking Challenges
There is no central exchange to grab figures from when it comes to forex. The best we can get is smaller pieces of information and add them all up. Fortunately, the top currency pairs have been fairly consistent. They are:

1. The euro and U.S. dollar (EUR/USD)
2. The U.S. dollar and Japanese yen (USD/JPY)
3. The British pound and the U.S. dollar (GBP/USD)

Beyond the top three, the ranking becomes more difficult, so take this with a grain of salt:

4. Australian dollar and U.S. dollar (AUD/USD)
5. U.S. dollar and Swiss franc (USD/CHF)
6. U.S. dollar and Canadian dollar (USD/CAD)
7. Euro and Japanese yen (EUR/JPY)
8. Euro and British pound (EUR/GBP)

These eight pairs make up over 90% of all forex trading. (To learn more about the foreign exchange market, check out A Beginner's Guide to the Forex Market.)