Forex

5 Most Traded Forex Pairs and What to Watch in Each One

Astron Team · 09/24/2026 · 6 min read

The currency market brings together more than 180 currencies in circulation, but in practice most of the volume traded every day concentrates in a handful of pairs. Understanding why these pairs draw so much attention helps beginners choose where to study first, instead of getting lost trying to follow dozens of combinations at once.

Before looking at each pair, it's worth remembering three characteristics that change from one pair to another: liquidity (how much money circulates, which generally lowers trading costs), volatility (how much the price usually moves over a period), and the hour when activity tends to be highest, tied to the London, New York, Tokyo, and Sydney sessions.

EUR/USD: the world's most watched pair

The euro against the US dollar concentrates the largest share of global currency volume. That happens because it joins the two largest Western economies and has a constant presence at banks, funds, and companies that need to convert amounts between the two currencies. In practice, this liquidity usually means a smaller gap between the buy and sell price, which makes chart reading easier for beginners.

EUR/USD activity tends to pick up when the London and New York sessions overlap, in the early afternoon Brasília time. Interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve usually generate the sharpest moves.

USD/JPY: sensitive to interest rates and risk-off moments

The dollar against the Japanese yen has a particular behavior: the yen is seen by many investors as a safe-haven currency during moments of global uncertainty, so the pair can move differently than interest rate logic alone would suggest. When the gap between US and Japanese interest rates widens, it's common to see this pair gain strength over weeks.

USD/JPY's highest activity usually happens during the Asian session, when the Japanese market is open, and again when New York starts trading.

GBP/USD: a reputation for higher volatility

Informally known among traders as "cable", the pound sterling against the dollar tends to have bigger swings than EUR/USD over short time frames. News about the British economy, Bank of England decisions, and political events in the UK can generate fast moves, which demands extra attention to position size.

AUD/USD: the commodities thermometer

The Australian dollar has a strong relationship with raw material prices, since Australia is a major exporter of iron ore and other resources. This pair also tends to react to economic data from China, the country's main trading partner, even without any direct news about Australia. It's an example of how a currency pair can carry information about other markets.

USD/CAD: the neighbor tied to oil

The Canadian dollar tends to move together with oil prices, since Canada is a significant exporter of the commodity. When oil rises, it's common to see the Canadian dollar strengthen against the US dollar, and the opposite also tends to happen. That makes USD/CAD an interesting pair for those who already follow the energy market and want to understand how that knowledge connects to currencies.

How to use these characteristics day to day

None of this information indicates that a pair will rise or fall at a given moment — it only describes behavior patterns that repeat over time and help interpret what's behind a price move. Before trading any pair, it makes sense to study:

• Which session the pair usually has the most volume in, to avoid trading during low-liquidity hours.
• Which economic news affects each currency in the pair, and when it's usually released.
• What the pair's typical volatility is, to calibrate the position size and the risk taken on each trade.

The forex market is available every business day, 24 hours a day, which is an advantage, but also demands discipline not to trade just because you're awake at a certain hour. Practicing reading these five pairs on a demo account, before trading with real money on Astron or any other platform, is a way to get to know each one's behavior without putting capital at risk. It's worth remembering that trading the currency market involves risk of loss, and no historical pattern guarantees what will happen on the next price move.