Minor pair

Minor pairs are currency pairs that combine two of the main currencies but leave out the US dollar. Examples include EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY, AUD/JPY, EUR/CHF and GBP/AUD. Market participants often use "minor" and "cross" interchangeably, though some reserve "cross" for any non-dollar pair and "minor" for the more liquid ones.

Historically, many non-dollar trades were executed by going through the dollar: to exchange euros for yen, a dealer would effectively trade EUR/USD and USD/JPY. Today the biggest crosses trade directly in deep markets, but their prices still track the two dollar legs closely.

Costs and behaviour

Minor pairs generally have wider spreads than the dollar majors, and the gap widens further in quiet hours. Some, such as GBP/JPY, are known for larger daily ranges. Swap rates depend on the interest rate differential between the two currencies, which for yen crosses has often been wide.

The leverage catch

The regulatory meaning differs from market usage. For EU retail clients, ESMA allows 30:1 on any pair made only of USD, EUR, JPY, GBP, CAD and CHF, so EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY get the same 30:1 as EUR/USD. Pairs involving any other currency, including AUD/JPY or EUR/AUD, are capped at 20:1. See major pair for the full rule.

Example

Illustrative figures: 1 standard lot of EUR/GBP at 0.8600 has a pip value of 10 pounds, since the quote currency is sterling. For a euro-based account at an exchange rate of 0.86 pounds per euro, that is about 11.63 euros per pip. The pip value calculator handles the conversion. More in currency pairs explained.