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Forex is the most liquid and fluid market in the world. It trades 24 hours a day, from 5pm EST Sunday to 4pm EST Friday, and it rarely has any gaps in price. Its sheer size and scope (from Asia to Europe to North America) makes the currency market the most accessible market in the world. The primary reason the FX market exists is to facilitate the exchange of one currency into another for multinational corporations that need to trade currencies continually (for example, for payroll, payment for costs of goods and services from foreign vendors, and merger and acquisition activity). However, these day-to-day corporate needs comprise only about 20% of the market volume. The other 80% of trades in the currency market are speculative in nature, put on by large financial institutions, multibillion dollar hedge funds and even individuals. The currency is traded in pairs; the majority trade or the seven most liquid currency pairs in the world, which are the four "majors":

EUR/USD (euro/dollar)  

USD/JPY (dollar/Japanese yen)  

GBP/USD (British pound/dollar)  

USD/CHF (dollar/Swiss franc)

And the three cross currency pairs:

AUD/USD (Australian dollar/dollar)

USD/CAD (dollar/Canadian dollar)

NZD/USD (New Zealand dollar/dollar)

These currency pairs, along with their various combinations account for more than 95% of all speculative trading in FX.