From Our Currency Research Team:

The most important part of investing is “understand what you’re investing in.” When you’re talking about investing in currencies, most currency traders will talk about the “seven” majors.

The seven majors are the currencies that are traded most often on major dealing desks around the world. The seven majors are generally paired with the dollar (so technically if you could the dollar as a “major,” you have eight).

Here’s your 30 second introduction to these major currencies…

U.S. Dollar (USD): Otherwise known as the world’s reserve currency. The majority of trades in the Forex market involve the U.S. dollar against a different currency because the U.S. economy is still the largest. However, traders do this less, when the euro rises.

Euro (EUR): This is the new kid of the currency block. Lately, as the dollar has fallen, the euro has been stepping up to take its place as reference currency, as well as a larger component of foreign reserves by banks. It is also known as the anti-dollar because the euro tends to appreciate, as the dollar depreciates.

Japanese Yen (JPY): The yen is also known as the carry-trade currency because for years, investors have borrowed yen to fund their carry-trades. Because Japan imports all of its oil, when crude oil prices begin to climb this hurts its economy and greatly impacts the value of the yen.

Swiss Franc (CHF): Also known as Swissie, it is sometimes called a ‘safe heaven,’ due to Switzerland following an independent policy, economy isolation, and private banking system. This in turn has made their currency very neutral.

The British pound (GBP): Frequently called, Cable or Sterling, the pound first got these nicknames because it was the first currency the Forex market traded through ‘cables’ across the Atlantic. The pound is the fourth most traded currency on the market and Great Britain’s economy is one of the strongest in Europe.

Canadian dollar (CAD): This currencies unusual nickname, Loonie, comes from the coins appearance, which features a loon on the coins backside, a common Canadian bird. Canada is a resource-focused economy, so the price of oil drives this currency along with commodities.

Australian dollar (AUD): Known as the Aussie, and is popular in the Forex market because of Australia’s high interest rates and its generally stable economy. In addition, the Australian dollar is greatly influenced and driven by gold prices.

New Zealand dollar (NZD): Also known as the “kiwi,” the New Zealand dollar traditionally tracks the Aussie dollar’s path because these economies are tied together through exports. However, sometimes (like recently) the New Zealand can fall while the Aussie dollar rises.

Every day, Jack Crooks watches all eight of these currencies so he can recommend the next double or triple-digit winners for his subscribers. Interested in how he does it? Learn how here.