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Chapter 3: Currency Symbols in Forex
In the familiar market for goods, products are sold for money. But how does it work in the global currency market, where the goods themselves are money? It's quite simple - in Forex, one currency is traded relative to another, meaning a certain amount of one currency is offered in exchange for a unit of another currency.
Since there are many different currencies, an international standardization committee has assigned a three-letter code to each currency for clarity. The first two letters indicate the country of origin of the currency, while the third letter, usually (but not always), represents the first letter of the currency's name in that country. For example, in the currency symbol JPY, the first two letters "JP" denote Japan, while the third letter "Y" represents the Japanese currency unit, the Yen.
Despite the rapid growth of Euro (EUR) currency operations in Forex, the US Dollar (USD) still remains the dominant currency in the global currency market. The trading volumes in different currencies on Forex are not equal. The diagram below shows the percentage breakdown of buying/selling operations for major currencies in the global currency market in 2004 (based on a three-year survey conducted by the central banks and published by the Swiss Bank for International Settlements in April 2007).
Here is the decryption of the currency codes presented in the diagram, along with their alternative codes commonly used in specialized literature, as well as symbols and nicknames used in dealer slang. The nicknames are often used not for the currency itself but in reference to currency pairs, primarily with the US Dollar. For example, "cable" in Forex is often used in reference to the GBP/USD pair (the British Pound is bought and sold against the US Dollar).
| National flag | Currency code | English name of the currency | Russian name of the currency | Symbol | Synonyms in dealer slang | % of Forex operations |
 |
USD | United States Dollar | Доллар США | $ | green buck, buck | 45% |
 |
EUR | Euro | Евро | € | 19% | |
 |
JPY (YEN) | Japanese Yen | Японская Йена | ¥ | gopher, geppy | 10% |
 |
GBP (STG) | Great Britain Pound | Английский фунт стерлингов | £ | cable | 8% |
 |
CHF (SWF, SFR) | Swiss Franc | Швейцарский франк | Fr. | swissy | 3% |
 |
AUD | Australian Dollar | Австралийский доллар | $ | aussie | 3% |
 |
CAD | Canadian Dollar | Канадский доллар | C$ | loonie, beaver | 2% |
 |
SEK | Swedish Krona | Шведская крона | kr | 1% | |
 |
HKD | Hong Kong Dollar | Гонконгский доллар | HK$ | 1% | |
 |
NOK | Norwegian Krone | Норвежская крона | kr | 1% | |
 |
NZD | New Zealand Dollar | Новозеландский доллар | $ | kiwi | 1% |
 |
MXN | Mexican Peso | Мексиканский песо | Mex$ | < 1% | |
 |
SGD | Singapore Dollar | Сингапурский доллар | S$ | < 1% | |
 |
KRW | South Korean Won | Южнокорейский вон | ₩ | < 1% | |
 |
ZAR | South African Rand | Южноафриканский ранд | R | < 1% | |
 |
DKK | Danish Krone | Датская крона | kr | < 1% | |
 |
RUB (RUR) | Russian Ruble | Российский рубль | руб | < 1% |
Unfortunately, the Russian Ruble (RUB) is not actively traded on Forex as it is not freely convertible at the moment.