Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. Before deciding to trade foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. You could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose.
Select or search for currency pairs to view real-time prices, charts and more.
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AUD/CNH |
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CNH/JPY |
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EUR/CNH |
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EUR/RUB |
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USD/CNH |
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EMFX GBP/INR |
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EMFX USD/BRL |
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EMFX USD/INR |
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EMFX USD/IDR |
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EMFX USD/KRW |
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EMFX USD/PHP |
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Prices above are subject to our website terms and conditions. Prices are indicative only.
Markets | Bid | Offer | Change |
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AUD/CAD |
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AUD/CHF |
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AUD/EUR |
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AUD/GBP |
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AUD/NZD |
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AUD/SGD |
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EUR/AUD |
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EUR/NZD |
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GBP/AUD |
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GBP/NZD |
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NZD/CHF |
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NZD/EUR |
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NZD/GBP |
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NZD/JPY |
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NZD/USD |
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NZD/CAD |
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Prices above are subject to our website terms and conditions. Prices are indicative only.
Markets | Bid | Offer | Change |
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CHF/HUF |
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EUR/CZK |
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EUR/HUF |
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EUR/MXN |
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EUR/PLN |
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EUR/TRY |
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GBP/CZK |
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GBP/MXN |
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GBP/PLN |
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TRY/JPY |
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USD/HUF |
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USD/ILS |
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USD/MXN |
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USD/PLN |
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USD/TRY |
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Prices above are subject to our website terms and conditions. Prices are indicative only.
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How does forex trading work?
Forex trading works by simultaneously buying one currency while selling another. If the currency you have bought increases in value against the currency you have sold, you can close your position for a profit. If not, you make a loss.
How do I read a forex currency rate?
Forex markets are always quoted in pairs – EUR/USD, for example – because you’ll always be trading one currency for another. The exchange rate is how much one unit of the first (‘base’) currency costs in the second (‘quote’) currency
Say the EUR/USD exchange rate is quoted as 1.1700. This means that it would cost 1.17 dollars to buy a single euro.
What are pips?
Pips are a forex-specific synonym for basis points or ‘points’, the smallest amounts by which a market price can change. For major currencies a pip is a standardized unit of 1/100th of 1%, or 0.0001, except for pairs including the Japanese yen. For these pairs, a pip is equal to 0.01.
At IG, we tend to use the term ‘pips’, but you may see ‘points’ used interchangeably by other brokers.
What are major currency pairs?
Major currency pairs are those that trade in the highest volume on a daily basis. These pairs are incredibly liquid and trade 24 hours a day, usually with very narrow spreads. Some examples include EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD and USD/CHF.
What are minor currency pairs?
What constitutes a minor currency pair can vary depending on where you look. Some brokers stipulate that a minor pair can’t include the US dollar, for example, and as such refer to them as ‘crosses’.
More generally, a minor pair is any currency pair that’s traded less frequently than the majors, even if one or both constituent pairs also appear in a major currency pair. Some of the more popular include CHF/JPY, GBP/CAD and EUR/SGD.
What are exotic currency pairs?
Exotic currency pairs, or ‘exotics’ for short, are made up of one major currency along with another from a small or emerging economy. Examples include GBP/MXN (sterling and the Mexican peso) or USD/PLN (the US dollar and the Polish zloty).
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* IG US minimum spreads are equal to or lower than Forex.com, Oanda, or TDAmeritrade minimum spreads across the top 4 traded currency pairs (EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD, AUD/USD), as observed on May 25, 2021. IG US minimum EUR/USD spread is at least 20% lower. Excludes competitors’ commission-based products.
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