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WHAT IS EUR/USD?
Once every three years the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), often called the central bankers’ bank, conducts an
in-depth survey of the global foreign exchange (FX) and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets. The most recent
look was in April 2019 and it emphasized again just how important the US Dollar and the Euro are in the currency
markets.
It calculated that the US Dollar was on one side of 88% of all trades, with the Euro in second place at 32%. Trading in
EUR/USD accounted for almost a quarter of all FX trades, according to the BIS survey.
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Source: BIS (You can click for a larger image); EME = Emerging Market Economies
WHERE TO TRADE EUR/USD
Because trading in EUR/USD is such a high percentage of the total, the pair can be traded in any of the major currency
centers: the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, as well as smaller centers such as Australia. Of note: in these
major centres, retail investors engage in trading with a Registered Foreign Exchange Dealer, which acts as a counterparty
to all of its customers’ trades.
The period between the close of US exchanges and before Asian markets open is typically the most reserved period for
trade during a standard day. In contrast, the crossover of European late afternoon and morning New York trading hours is
normally the most active.
EUR/USD PRICE CHART, WEEKLY TIMEFRAME (AUGUST 26, 2013 – MARCH 11, 2021)
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Moreover, EUR/USD is a good barometer of general market sentiment. The US Dollar is widely seen as the safest of
safe havens for investors looking to reduce their risk, so EUR/USD tends to fall when traders are pessimistic and rise
when they are more willing to look at riskier assets, even though the Euro is by no means the riskiest.
EUR/USD PRICE CHART, DAILY TIMEFRAME (JULY 30, 2018 – OCTOBER 21, 2020)