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Forex trading: is it best to trade outside of Europe?

forex trading
Written by Nigel Simpkins

Forex trading is notoriously tricky for beginners at the best of times. However, when it comes to political pressure, currencies are always likely to move up and down. Given recent events across Europe, it’s safe to assume that many people will be trading away from the continent for the foreseeable future.

But is this necessarily well-founded? Is it worth sticking to stronger pairs based in the Americas or in Australasia? While it’s always worth keeping track of the latest forex trading news, it’s also worth digging a bit deeper into what’s performing well. Let’s consider why trading in non-European forex may be worth your while.

Don’t discount EUR completely

It remains to be said that, despite global challenges these past few years, the EUR remains one of the strongest economies you can pair on the board. It’s a very liquid choice. What’s more, many traders still rely on EUR/USD, considered one of the most robust investment picks.

Regardless of what may be happening in the world, the Euro caters to a huge variety of territories, hence its strength compared to other currencies. It’s used by at least 19 different countries, meaning that it can still hold robustly against political fluctuations.

That said, it pays to diversify. So, let’s consider a few other pairs that you might want to place money into as backups.

Choose USD/JPY

For reliability, you can rarely go wrong with trading in USD/JPY. The liquidity and strength in this pair is thanks to the fact that both currencies are so dependent upon each other across the continents. USD remains the major currency superpower at the time of writing, while the Yen remains highly liquid across Asia. This is to such an extent that many experts see JPY as a reserve currency that sits behind USD.

JPY’s value is relatively low for a reason – it ensures competitiveness. What’s more, the US and Japan may deal with disparate political issues, meaning there’s always likely to be a balance. If you do wish to extend beyond Europe, it’s worth looking far east and far west.

Choose USD/GBP

GBP has seen fluctuation over the past few years largely as a result of uncertainty surrounding Brexit. However, the currency remains one of the ‘big three’, in that it is still massively traded the world over. GBP makes for a strong pairing against USD, despite the fact that it has seen crashing over the past few years. 

There is also the fact that GBP is sought-after for its freedom from EUR. Britain never adopted the euro during its tenure in the European Union, and as such, the currency has continued to hold its own. While Britain is technically still a part of Europe, its separation from EUR and EU member states make it a lucrative pick for many people.

Choose USD/CAD

There is certainly no harm, either, in trading via the wholly North American route, choosing USD to pair with CAD. The main reason for investing in USD/CAD should be fairly obvious – given that the US and Canada are close neighbours, it’s expected that their currencies generally perform on the same level.

Canada, however, relies on commodities such as oil to help boost its currency power. Therefore, when oil drops in price, so does CAD. This means that you can expect CAD to follow the same path as oil pricing –

perhaps making trading in this pair that little bit more predictable.

CAD is otherwise fairly predictable and robust, and when paired with USD, it tends to pay well for traders. It might be one of the safer choices outside of Europe.

Choose USD/AUD

Are you noticing a pattern? USD tends to be a great backbone for most pairs. When it comes to AUD, or Australian Dollars, you are likely to expect a similar performance to that of CAD. With AUD, however, commodities such as iron and coal tend to affect the pricing.

Therefore, be careful to watch commodity rates if you do wish to trade in USD/AUD. Otherwise, this tends to be a fairly strong pick.

Conclusion

Strength will always fluctuate from pair to pair when it comes to the wild and wonderful world of forex. If you are considering using forex income towards saving up towards big purchases, there’s no real need to worry about avoiding EUR. That said, as you can see, there are plenty of other robust choices using USD that you’ll want to consider.