Currency Pair
Two currencies quoted together, showing the exchange rate between them.
Full Definition
A currency pair consists of two currencies quoted against each other, with the first being the base currency and the second the quote currency. The pair's price shows how many units of the quote currency are needed to buy one unit of the base. Every forex trade involves buying one currency while simultaneously selling the other, which is why pairs are always quoted together.
Pairs are classified into three groups based on liquidity and composition. Major pairs include the US dollar paired with one of the other top global currencies, such as EUR/USD, USD/JPY, or GBP/USD. Cross pairs, also called crosses, combine two major currencies without the US dollar, like EUR/GBP or AUD/NZD. Exotic pairs combine a major currency with an emerging market currency, such as USD/TRY or EUR/ZAR. Majors typically have the tightest spreads and highest liquidity, while exotics carry wider spreads and larger price swings.
For example, if you trade EUR/USD at 1.0850, you are engaging with one of the most liquid pairs in the world. A 1 pip spread on a standard lot costs about $10. The same position on an exotic pair like USD/TRY might face a 50 pip spread, or roughly $500 of immediate cost, because liquidity is thinner and volatility is higher.
In copy trading, understanding how currency pairs work helps subscribers follow what the strategy is actually trading. SteadyFlowFX's 9 algorithms trade 8 currency pairs across different sessions and market conditions. Recognizing what EUR/USD, GBP/USD, and the other pairs represent gives subscribers the conceptual foundation to read their trade history and understand why certain pairs are active at specific times.