The world's largest marketplace
Among the most rewarding markets opening up to traders is the Foreign Exchange market. Identifiable trading patterns and comparatively low margin requirements have created opportunities for many.
In contrast to the world's stock markets, foreign exchange is traded without a central physical exchange. Transactions happen via electronic networks linking banks, brokers, and traders around the world, 24 hours a day, five days a week.
This decentralized structure is why forex has become by far the largest marketplace in the world. Average daily volume in foreign exchange exceeds $7.5 trillion, compared with around $200 billion in daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange. That's roughly 37× larger than NYSE.
This high volume is advantageous from a trading standpoint: transactions can be executed quickly, with low transaction costs (a small bid/ask spread). For these reasons, foreign exchange has long been recognized as a superior investment opportunity by major banks, multinational corporations, and other institutions. Today, this market is more widely available to the individual trader than ever before.
Spot foreign exchange is always traded as one currency in relation to another. A trader who believes the dollar will rise versus the Euro would sell EURUSD — that is, sell Euros and buy US Dollars.
The major currency pairs
These are the most actively traded pairs on GCI's platforms. The "trading terminology" column shows the nicknames you'll hear professional traders use.
| Symbol | Currency Pair | Trading Terminology |
|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | British Pound / US Dollar | "Cable" |
| EUR/USD | Euro / US Dollar | "Euro" |
| USD/JPY | US Dollar / Japanese Yen | "Dollar Yen" |
| USD/CHF | US Dollar / Swiss Franc | "Dollar Swiss" or "Swissy" |
| USD/CAD | US Dollar / Canadian Dollar | "Dollar Canada" or "Loonie" |
| AUD/USD | Australian Dollar / US Dollar | "Aussie Dollar" |
| NZD/USD | New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar | "Kiwi" |
| EUR/GBP | Euro / British Pound | "Euro Sterling" |
| EUR/JPY | Euro / Japanese Yen | "Euro Yen" |
| EUR/CHF | Euro / Swiss Franc | "Euro Swiss" |
| GBP/CHF | British Pound / Swiss Franc | "Sterling Swiss" |
| GBP/JPY | British Pound / Japanese Yen | "Sterling Yen" |
| CHF/JPY | Swiss Franc / Japanese Yen | "Swiss Yen" |
| USD/ZAR | US Dollar / South African Rand | "South African Rand" |
| XAU/USD | Spot Gold | "Gold" |
| XAG/USD | Spot Silver | "Silver" |
Spot forex vs currency futures
This section compares spot forex with currency futures contracts. If you've never traded futures, you can skip this section — GCI offers spot forex, which is what almost all retail traders use. Come back to this section if you've previously traded futures or want to understand the technical relationship.
Many traders have made the switch from currency futures to spot foreign exchange trading. Spot foreign exchange offers better liquidity and a lower cost of trading than currency futures. Banks and brokers in spot forex can quote markets 24 hours a day, and the spot market is not burdened by exchange and NFA fees, which are generally passed on to the customer as higher commissions.
For these reasons, virtually all professional traders and institutions conduct most of their foreign exchange dealing in the spot forex market, not in currency futures.
How they're quoted differently
The mechanics of trading spot forex are similar to currency futures, but the most important initial difference is how currency pairs are quoted:
Always quoted as the currency versus the US dollar. Example: Euro futures rise when the Euro strengthens.
Some pairs are quoted the same way; others are quoted USD versus the currency. The first currency in the pair is what's being quoted.
Example: USDCHF is quoted as US Dollars versus Swiss Francs — the opposite of Swiss Franc futures. If the Swiss Franc strengthens against the Dollar, USDCHF will fall, while Swiss Franc futures will rise.
Parallel vs Inverse: which pairs move with futures?
The table below shows which spot forex pairs move in the same direction as their currency futures contracts, and which move inversely:
| Forex Symbol | Currency Pair | Futures Symbol | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBPUSD | British Pound / US Dollar | BP | Parallel |
| EURUSD | Euro / US Dollar | EU | Parallel |
| USDJPY | US Dollar / Japanese Yen | JY | Inverse |
| USDCHF | US Dollar / Swiss Franc | SF | Inverse |
| USDCAD | US Dollar / Canadian Dollar | CD | Inverse |
| AUDUSD | Australian Dollar / US Dollar | AD | Parallel |
| NZDUSD | New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar | ND | Parallel |
Lesson recap
- Forex is the largest financial market in the world — ~$7.5 trillion traded daily, dwarfing equity markets.
- It's decentralized — no central exchange, traded 24 hours a day, five days a week.
- Pairs are quoted as one currency relative to another. The first currency in the pair (e.g., EUR in EURUSD) is the one being quoted.
- Spot forex is preferred over currency futures by most professional traders due to lower costs, better liquidity, and 24-hour access.
- Some pairs move parallel to currency futures; others move inversely depending on quote order.
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