Instruments and markets
Minor pairs
Pairs between major currencies that do not include the US dollar - EUR/GBP, GBP/JPY, EUR/AUD and similar. Spreads are wider than on the majors and daily ranges are often larger, so the same strategy costs more to run.
Also called: Crosses
GFN’s figure
Minor pairs trade on GFN accounts where available, under the same $3.50 per side, $7 per lot round turn commission and the same daily loss limit - a wider spread simply consumes the allowance faster.
In detail
Minor pairs,explained
A cross is effectively two dollar pairs combined, which is why it can move when neither of its own currencies has had news: a dollar move affects both legs unevenly.
The wider spread has to be paid for by a wider target. A strategy tuned to major-pair costs frequently stops working on crosses for that reason alone.
Related
Terms thatcome with it
Most rules only make sense next to the ones they interact with. These are the entries this one depends on.
Major pairs
The most traded currency pairs, all quoted against the US dollar: EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, USD/CHF, USD/CAD and AUD/USD. They carry the tightest spreads and the deepest liquidity, which makes them the cheapest pairs to trade frequently.
Exotic pairs
Pairs matching a major currency with a smaller or emerging-market one - USD/TRY, USD/ZAR, USD/MXN and similar. Spreads are wide, moves are large, swap charges are heavy and liquidity can disappear with very little warning.
Forex
The market for exchanging one currency for another, traded as pairs. It runs 24 hours from Sunday evening to Friday evening and is the deepest market by volume, which is why spreads on major pairs are so tight.
Spread
The gap between the bid and the ask price. It is the cost paid on entry: a position opens slightly underwater by the width of the spread before the market has moved at all.
Liquidity
How much can be traded at a given price without moving it. Deep liquidity produces tight spreads and reliable fills; thin liquidity produces wide spreads, slippage and gaps.
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