Currency Pair

A currency pair is two currencies quoted together, such as EURUSD or USDZAR, with a single price that compares them. In forex you always trade one currency against another. The first currency is the base, the second is the quote, and the price tells you how much quote currency one unit of base currency costs.

What are the base and quote currency?

The base currency is the first currency in the pair and the quote currency is the second, so the price is how much quote currency one base unit costs. MetaQuotes documentation describes the base currency as the first currency in the symbol name, and the profit (quotation) currency as the one in which profit is calculated.

In USDZAR the base is the US dollar and the quote is the second currency, so the price is how many units of that currency one dollar costs. Official reference rates follow the same logic: the Federal Reserve publishes most currencies in units per US dollar.

Buying a pair means buying the base currency and selling the quote currency; selling does the reverse. On most retail accounts you trade the pair as a contract for difference (CFD), so the price difference is settled in cash and no currency is delivered.

Worked example: reading EURUSD and USDJPY

Worked example. Live rates for both pairs are in Market Watch.

• EURUSD 1.1000 means one euro costs 1.10 US dollars, so €100 is $110. If the price moves to 1.1200, one euro now costs more dollars: the euro has risen against the dollar, and the dollar has weakened against the euro.
• USDJPY 150.00 means one US dollar costs ¥150, so $200 is ¥30,000. A move to 145.00 means the dollar now costs fewer yen.

Because the price is in the quote currency, profit and loss is first calculated in dollars or yen. The pip value calculator does that conversion for a position size you choose.

What are major, minor and exotic pairs?

A major pair joins two of six leading currencies, a minor pairs major currencies without the US dollar, and an exotic pairs a major with one from a smaller or emerging economy. The six majors are usually taken to be the US dollar, euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, Canadian dollar and Swiss franc.

All three labels are market conventions, so lists differ slightly between sources. Commonly, minors are pairs of major currencies that do not include the US dollar, and exotics pair a major currency with one from a smaller or emerging economy. By that convention USDZAR and USDNGN are exotics. Pairs can differ in liquidity and volatility, so check the quoted spread.

How do you find a currency pair in MetaTrader 5?

Currency pairs are listed in the Market Watch window of MetaTrader 5, each symbol with its live Bid and Ask prices. You add a symbol with the + button below the list. Right-click a symbol and choose Specification to see its profit currency and digits. Which pairs appear depends on your broker.

What do traders often get wrong about currency pairs?

A rising pair does not mean both currencies are doing well; the price only compares the two. If EURUSD rises, the euro is stronger against the dollar, or the dollar is weaker, or both; a high price per unit does not make a currency strong either, as strongest currencies explains.

A long position of 10,000 euros opened at 1.1000 gains $200 if the price rises to 1.1200 and loses $200 if it falls to 1.0800.

Learn how pairs sit among the other markets in what can you trade.

Sources

• MetaQuotes, MQL5 Book: Base, quote, and margin currencies of the instrument, accessed 19 October 2026: the base currency is the first currency in the symbol name and the profit currency is the quotation currency. https://www.mql5.com/en/book/automation/symbols/symbols_currencies
• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.10 Foreign Exchange Rates, accessed 19 October 2026: most currencies are published in units of currency per US dollar. https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/current/
• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Market Watch, accessed 19 October 2026: Bid and Ask display, adding symbols with +, and the Specification window showing profit currency and digits. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/market_watch