I read recently some interesting information about forex and the currencies. Thought it would be nice to hand you this information, just like that.

Most people don’t realize it but the Forex market itself is not unified as there are many small markets specializing in trading various currencies. The most commonly traded currencies are the US dollar, the Australian dollar, the British pound sterling, the Japanese yen, and the European Euro. The values of these currencies will vary depending on the market in which an investor is looking, so there is really no such thing as a single, unified dollar rate, but instead there are several dollar rates, which are different according to the market where the trade is occurring.

The major cities in which trades occur are London, New York and Tokyo. This covers a 24-hour period. When Asian trading ends, European trading begins, and when European trading ends, American trading opens and when American trading ends, it is time for Asian trading to open again, and on and on it goes.

Regarding the popularity of the currencies, it’s clear that the US dollar is the most commonly traded currency. It’s involved in 89% of all trades. The Euro is next with 37% of all trades, followed by the yen (20% of all trades) and the pound (17% of all trades).

The fastest rising currency in trade is the Euro. The US dollar is still considered the anchor point, and the currency to watch to judge how others will react. Differences in value of currencies come form the daily news. Changes in gross domestic product growth, inflation, interest rates, budget and tirade deficits, surpluses and other economic conditions will cause changes in currency values. Forex investors and traders for this reason follow the news very closely. There are 24-hour cable news channels and many web sites devoted to news for currency traders.