Best Forex Pairs to Trade

The best currency pairs for most traders to trade are those with good round-the-clock liquidity that are liable to trend. That is the price following a particular direction for a fixed period of time. The more illiquid currencies whose prices move erratically are less desirable, though some active short-term specialist traders known as scalpers can prefer this type of instrument.

Most Popular Currency Pairs

These are the top ten FX pairs by volume traded and news flow, two contributing factors to being the best:

Source Good Money Guide Research

For most forex traders though liquidity is the determining factor. The most liquid of all FX pairs is the Euro versus the US dollar (EURUSD). The British pound against the US Dollar (GBPUSD)

The US Dollar versus the Japanese Yen (USDJPY) and the Australian Dollar versus its US counterpart (AUDUSD) are all very popular and widely traded FOREX pairs.

As with all trading, you need a decent broker if you are going to stand half a chance at successful forex trading. You can compare the best forex brokers here and read expert and client reviews of these popular brokers for forex trading.

Best Currency Pairs To Trade At Night

The best forex pairs to trade at night are the ones on the other side of the world from where you are located as liquidity will be higher.

FX markets operate 24 hours a day 5 days a week they are truly global trading starts in Asia moves across the Middle East and into Europe and London in particular and then onto New York and the USA so, night time trading for those based in Europe might be the early evening when the New York session is underway but the London session has closed. Traders operating at night time are unlikely to notice too much of a difference.

However, we should acknowledge that once London has shut up shop for the day there will be fewer market participants, that’s offset to some extent by the fact that many of the biggest players in the FX markets are the major American banks.

Generally, though, markets can become less liquid after the US close into the Asian open.

In short trading in the liquid majors is likely the best strategy, though as we saw back in January 2019, with the flash crash in the Japanese yen. Even one of the most widely traded currencies can suffer from limited liquidity out of hours, which in this case was exacerbated by an extended New Year’s holiday in Japan.

• Top tip: Check the forex market opening times for peak liquidity

Most Predictable Currency Pairs

The instrument that has had one of the strongest long-term trends over the last eight years is not a currency pair but rather a trade-weighted basket. That is a currency compared to the performance of the currencies of its major trading partners, In this case, the dollar index.

Predictability is not something that is often associated with the FX markets there are currencies which are pegged to a benchmark such as the US Dollar or indeed to a basket of other currencies, the most famous currency peg of recent times was that of the Swiss franc to the euro. Under which the Swiss national bank sought to limit the appreciation of the Swiss currency to maintain the competitiveness of Swiss exports.

Yet despite imposing negative interest rates and selling their own currency, the Central bank was unable to stem the flow of funds moving into the franc, and famously in January 2015, the SNB pulled the plug letting the franc find its own level against the Euro.

Most Traded Cross Pairs

There is no central exchange or counterparty in FX markets and detailed volume figures are published sporadically at best and even then, not necessarily by all participants. However, we can get a good idea about which were the most traded currencies in a given year thanks to surveys conducted by the Bank of England among the major FX players in London. Which is the largest FX marketplace in the world. The table below from the Source the Bank of England semi-annual FX survey in February 2024 shows the average daily volume in sport currency transactions which shows the top ten traded cross pairs.

How to trade currency Pairs?

If you want to speculate on currency pairs you need a forex trading platform, these are split between brokers that offer currency futures, FX spread betting and forex CFDs.

Forex Broker	Forex Pairs	Minimum Deposit	GMG Rating	More Info	Risk Warning
	182	£100	(4.7)	See Platform	70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	80	£1	(4.8)	See Platform	75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
	100	£1	(4.5)	See Platform	75.3% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	64	£100	(4.6)	See Platform	80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
	100	£1	(4.6)	See Platform	60% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	60	£1	(4.4)	See Platform	64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	51	£250	(4.6)	See Platform	70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs and spread bets with this provider.
	338	£1	(4.6)	See Platform	70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	84	£1	(4.6)	See Platform	65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider
	41	$10	(4)	See Platform	51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money

Richard Berry

Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.

Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.

Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.

Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.

You can contact Richard at richard@goodmoneyguide.com

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