US Dollar in Forex Trading

In currency trading, the most economically liquid and politically steady currencies are in higher demand than currencies based in less stable areas. Due to the size and strength of the United States economy, the American dollar is the world's most actively traded currency, and the U.S. dollar is normally taken as the base currency for quotes. The "majors" - the most liquid and most commonly traded currencies - are the U.S. dollar (USD), the Euro (EUR), the New Zealand dollar (NZD), the Canadian dollar (CAD), the Swiss franc (CHF), the British pound (GBP), the Japanese Yen (JPY) and the Australian dollar (AUD). Currency pairs that do not involve the U.S. dollar are referred to as “cross rates”. A "euro cross" contains the Euro in the currency pair