Reading a Foreign Exchange Quote...

[dekac]

Hi Traders

When you first look at a foreign exchange quote, or Forex quote, you will likely be a little confused. It can be very confusing however once you learn how to read the Forex quote; you will gain a lot about the system itself. The first letters listed are the abbreviation for the first currency in the quote. This currency is considered the base currency. The value of this currency is always 1, unless otherwise noted. You may see things such as USD/JPY, USD/CHF, and USD/CAD. When you see these currencies with numbers behind them, such as USD/JPY 112.01, it means that one US dollar is equal to 112.01 Japanese yen. When the base unit and the quote rises, it means the dollar has gotten stronger and the other currency has weakened.
There are several exceptions to this rule however. When dealing with the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD), and the Euro (EUR), things are a bit different. You may see something that looks like GBP/USD 1.6366. This means that one British pound equals 1.6366 US dollars. When you are dealing with these situations, remember that when you see the quote rising, the US dollar is weakening. A higher quote typically means the first currency (the base currency) is getting stronger. When the quote is lowering, the base currency is getting weaker...

Regards
dekac