EUR/AUD: Euro / Australian dollar

EUR/AUD is the price of one euro in Australian dollars. If the pair is quoted at 1.6500, one euro costs 1.65 Australian dollars. It joins the currency of a large, diversified European economy with the currency of a resource-rich economy on the other side of the world, and that contrast is what gives the pair its character: EUR/AUD has often behaved like an inverted gauge of global risk appetite, rising when investors grow nervous and falling when they are confident.

This profile covers who trades the pair, the two central banks behind it, what tends to move it, how it behaves through the day, what it costs to trade, a worked pip value example, its correlations, the episodes that shaped it and how to approach it as a beginner.

What EUR/AUD is and who trades it

EUR/AUD is a cross: a pair that does not include the US dollar. The euro is the base currency and the Australian dollar the quote currency. When the pair rises, the euro is strengthening against the Australian dollar; when it falls, the Australian dollar is strengthening. Our guide to currency pairs explains how crosses work. In practice the price is closely tied to two dollar pairs: EUR/AUD is approximately EUR/USD divided by AUD/USD.

The pair has genuine commercial flows behind it. European exporters sell machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals and food to Australia, Australian businesses buy and sell in euros, and investors in both regions hold each other's bonds and shares and hedge the currency risk. On top of those flows sit macro funds that use EUR/AUD to express a view on global growth or on the relative paths of European and Australian interest rates, and short-term traders who like a cross that is active in both the Asian and European sessions.

For EU retail clients, EUR/AUD is capped at 20:1 leverage. ESMA's higher 30:1 cap applies only to pairs made of two currencies from the list of USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD and CHF, and the Australian dollar is not on it. That means more margin per lot than on EUR/USD or EUR/GBP. Our guide to ESMA leverage limits explains how the caps work.

The two economies and central banks behind it

The euro area and the ECB

The euro is shared by the members of the euro area, and its monetary policy is set by the European Central Bank's Governing Council in Frankfurt. The Council holds monetary policy meetings roughly every six weeks, eight times a year. Decisions are published at 14:15 Central European Time (13:15 UK time) and followed by a press conference half an hour later. The ECB targets inflation of 2% over the medium term. The euro area is a large, diversified economy and a big manufacturer and exporter, with Germany, France, Italy and Spain the largest members.

Australia and the RBA

The Reserve Bank of Australia sets the cash rate and targets inflation of 2 to 3%. Since 2024 it has held eight scheduled policy meetings a year, and since 2025 decisions have been made by a dedicated Monetary Policy Board. Statements are released at 14:30 Sydney time, which is in the early UK morning, roughly 03:30 in the northern winter and 05:30 in the northern summer. Australia is one of the world's largest exporters of iron ore, coal and liquefied natural gas, and China is its largest trading partner, which ties the Australian dollar to the global industrial cycle in a way the euro is not.

Because the two economies are so different, EUR/AUD is less a contest of nuance (as EUR/GBP often is) and more a contest between two different kinds of currency. Rate differentials matter, but so do global growth, commodity prices and the general mood of markets. Our guide to central banks and interest rates explains why the expected path of rates usually matters more than any single decision.

What typically moves EUR/AUD

Risk sentiment

This is often the dominant short-term force. The Australian dollar has tended to rise with risk appetite, stock markets and commodity prices, and to fall when investors seek safety. The euro has no consistent safe-haven role, but it has usually held up better than the Australian dollar in periods of global stress. The combination means EUR/AUD has frequently risen on sharp risk-off days. That is a tendency observed over many years, not a rule, and there have been long periods when it did not hold.

Rate expectations

The interest rate differential between the euro area and Australia, and how markets expect it to change, is the slowest and most persistent driver. When markets expect the RBA to keep rates higher for longer than the ECB, that tends to support the Australian dollar (a lower EUR/AUD); when the ECB looks the more hawkish of the two, the euro tends to benefit. The differential also determines the overnight swap.

China and commodities

Chinese industrial activity, property construction and steel output influence demand for Australian iron ore and coal. Chinese data releases, which often come out during the Asian morning, and swings in commodity prices can move the Australian dollar and therefore EUR/AUD. The link is real but loose, and it can disappear for months at a time when rates or risk sentiment dominate.

Data and central bank decisions

On the euro side, the flash estimate of euro area inflation (usually 11:00 CET, 10:00 UK time), national inflation figures, PMI surveys and German data are the main releases. On the Australian side, quarterly and monthly CPI, the monthly labour force survey and RBA decisions and minutes matter most. The surprise against consensus moves the pair, not the number itself; see how economic data moves forex.

The dollar, indirectly

Even without the dollar in its name, EUR/AUD responds to dollar moves that hit its two legs unevenly. A strong US jobs report might push AUD/USD down further than EUR/USD, lifting the cross. On days when the dollar moves both legs by similar amounts, EUR/AUD can look quiet while the majors swing.

Its character: liquidity, sessions and volatility

EUR/AUD is liquid enough for most retail trading, but it is a smaller market than either EUR/USD or AUD/USD, and most of its liquidity is effectively borrowed from those two pairs. Times below are UK time. Australia's south-eastern states move their clocks in the southern summer and the UK in the northern summer, so the gap between them shifts by up to two hours across the year.

• Sydney and Tokyo (roughly 22:00 to 07:00 UK time): an active window for the Australian side. Australian data, RBA decisions and Chinese releases land here.
• London morning (about 07:00 to 12:00 UK time): usually the busiest period for the pair, as European data arrives and European desks react to what happened in Asia.
• London and New York overlap (about 13:00 to 17:00 UK time): often active, particularly when US data shifts the dollar unevenly against the two currencies.
• Late New York and rollover (around 21:00 to 23:00 UK time): typically the thinnest liquidity and widest spreads of the day.

The market hours tool shows these sessions in your own time zone, and our guide to forex market hours and sessions explains the daylight saving shifts.

EUR/AUD's day-to-day movement has generally been larger in pips than that of EUR/USD, partly because the price level is higher (a 1% move is more pips on a pair quoted around 1.6 than on one quoted around 1.1) and partly because the two currencies often respond to global shocks in opposite directions. Its biggest moves have tended to come in bursts of global stress.

Costs of trading EUR/AUD

Spreads on EUR/AUD are typically wider than on EUR/USD or AUD/USD at the same broker, because it is a less traded cross. They usually widen further around the daily rollover, in thin holiday periods, at the Sunday evening open and around RBA decisions and major data. Compare typical spreads at the hours you actually trade rather than headline minimums; see spreads and commissions and why spreads widen.

The overnight swap depends on the difference between euro area and Australian interest rates plus the broker's markup. When Australian rates have been above euro area rates, short EUR/AUD positions (long the Australian dollar) have tended to be the side that earns a small credit or pays less, and long positions the side that pays. When the gap narrows or reverses, so does the pattern. Check the swap rates in your platform before holding a position for weeks; the swap calculator shows the cost over several nights, and swap and overnight financing explains the mechanics, including the triple charge usually applied on Wednesday nights.

Pip value: a worked example

On EUR/AUD a pip is 0.0001 and profit and loss accrue in Australian dollars, the quote currency. These numbers are illustrative.

• One standard lot is 100,000 euros. A pip is 100,000 times 0.0001 = 10 AUD.
• A mini lot (10,000 euros) is 1 AUD per pip; a micro lot (1,000 euros) is 0.10 AUD per pip.

Your platform converts that into your account currency at the current rate. On a dollar account with AUD/USD at an illustrative 0.6500, 10 AUD is 6.50 USD. On a euro account with EUR/AUD at 1.6500, 10 AUD is 10 divided by 1.65, about 6.06 EUR. On a pound account with GBP/AUD at 1.9500, it is about 5.13 GBP.

Now a trade. You buy 0.3 lots (30,000 euros) at 1.6500 with a stop at 1.6440, 60 pips away. Each pip is worth 3 AUD, so the stop is 180 AUD, about 109 EUR at 1.6500, before spread and swap. Margin at 20:1 on 30,000 euros is 1,500 EUR. Margin is collateral, not the maximum loss, and a fast market or a gap can carry the price through your stop. The pip value calculator and margin calculator handle the conversions, and the position size calculator works backwards from the amount you are prepared to risk.

Correlations with other pairs

Because EUR/AUD is built from EUR/USD and AUD/USD, its relationships with them are the first thing to understand before holding several positions at once.

• AUD/USD has often moved in the opposite direction to EUR/AUD, because a stronger Australian dollar pushes AUD/USD up and EUR/AUD down.
• EUR/USD has often moved in the same direction as EUR/AUD when the euro is the driver, though the link is weaker and less stable.
• GBP/AUD has usually moved closely with EUR/AUD, because both are dominated by the Australian dollar leg.
• AUD/JPY and equity indices have often moved opposite to EUR/AUD on risk-driven days.

So being long EUR/AUD and short AUD/USD at the same time is largely one bet against the Australian dollar, and long EUR/AUD with long GBP/AUD is close to a doubled position. Correlations change, sometimes abruptly. Our guide to currency correlation shows how to measure them over a recent window rather than relying on rules of thumb.

Notable history

The euro and the floating Australian dollar

The Australian dollar was floated on 12 December 1983, ending a managed exchange rate. The euro was introduced as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, with notes and coins following in 2002. EUR/AUD as a traded pair dates from 1999.

The 2008 financial crisis

The Australian dollar had been a favourite carry trade currency in the mid-2000s. When the global financial crisis intensified in late 2008, those positions were closed rapidly, commodity prices collapsed and the Australian dollar fell steeply. EUR/AUD rose sharply over a matter of weeks. It remains the standard illustration of how the pair can behave when risk appetite disappears.

The euro area debt crisis (2010 to 2012)

Worries about government debt in several euro area countries weighed on the euro for long stretches of this period, while Australia was benefiting from strong Chinese demand for its resources. It showed that the euro side can drive the pair too, not only the Australian dollar.

The March 2020 pandemic shock

As markets reacted to the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020, the Australian dollar fell sharply against most currencies and EUR/AUD jumped, before retracing as markets stabilised over the following months. Both the ECB and the RBA eased policy aggressively in this period. The episode is another example of how quickly the pair can move when global risk appetite collapses; see gap risk and weekend risk.

Trading EUR/AUD as a beginner

• Size for the stress days. EUR/AUD's biggest moves have come in bursts of global stress. Size your position so that a move several times your normal stop would not be a disaster; see position sizing.
• Account for the higher pip count. Because the pair is quoted around 1.6 rather than 1.1, normal daily moves are larger in pips than on EUR/USD. Stops copied from EUR/USD habits are likely to be too tight.
• Know when the news lands. Australian data and RBA decisions arrive in UK night-time hours. Holding through them is a decision, not a default.
• Remember the lower leverage cap. At 20:1, the margin per lot is higher than on EUR/USD. That is a sensible constraint, not an obstacle to work around; see leverage and margin.
• Watch for stacked exposure. EUR/AUD with GBP/AUD, or EUR/AUD with short AUD/USD, can concentrate risk in one idea.
• Keep the odds in view. Most retail CFD accounts lose money, and leverage magnifies losses as much as gains; see why most retail CFD traders lose. A demo account is a good place to learn the pair's rhythm first.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the leverage cap 20:1 on EUR/AUD but 30:1 on EUR/USD?

ESMA's 30:1 cap applies only to pairs made of two of USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD and CHF. The Australian dollar is not on that list, so EUR/AUD falls under the 20:1 cap that applies to other currency pairs.

Why does EUR/AUD often rise when stock markets fall?

Because the Australian dollar has tended to weaken when investors become risk-averse, while the euro has usually been more stable. The pair therefore often moves against global equity markets. It is a tendency, not a fixed relationship.

When is EUR/AUD most active?

The London morning is usually the busiest period, as European data and desks meet the overnight Asian moves. The Sydney and Tokyo hours are also active for the Australian side, with RBA decisions and Australian data landing there.

How much is a pip worth on EUR/AUD?

On a standard lot of 100,000 euros, a pip is 10 Australian dollars. Converted into your account currency, that is usually somewhere around 5 to 7 units of pounds, euros or dollars, depending on exchange rates at the time.

Is EUR/AUD more volatile than EUR/USD?

In pip terms it has generally moved more, partly because of its higher price level and partly because the two currencies often react to global shocks in opposite ways. Whether that makes it riskier for you depends far more on your position size and leverage than on the pair.