One vs Multiple Currency Pairs

Written by Danielle Franklin
blogs - Currency Pairs
There are many aspects forex traders observe in order to pick the most profitable currency pair. Forex market has endless possibilities and no restrictions on which currency to choose and how many currency pairs to trade. The question is what are the most preferred currency pairs? How to choose the right currency pair? Is sticking to one-pair path beneficial or it is more profitable to multitask?

In order to pick up the currency pair that suits you most, you have to consider the following aspects of forex trading:



SPREAD. Tight spreads ensure to keep your costs down. With smaller spreads you can have more profits due to larger gaps during price volatility and you can also reach your break even point quicker. Most forex brokers offer EUR/USD currency pair with the tightest spread of 2-3 pips.
TREND. It is important to analyze the trend of the selected currency pair in forex market. Forex charts with indicators can ease the process of choosing the most profitable currency pair. Most currency pairs are simply more trendy than the rest.
TRADING SESSIONS. The most profitable time to trade forex is when the market has a lot of trading transactions. Depending on the currency pair, you will have to adopt to the right trading time.
For example:



¨ 7 PM EST to 10 PM EST – Tokie Stock Exchange opens

¨ 8 AM EST to 12 PM EST – NY Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange open simultaneously (this is the time to trade almost any currency pairs)







Every trader differs with diverse mindset, psychological self-control, trading approach and overall understanding of forex market. Whether you choose to trade one pair or several is entirely up to you. Do not try to imitate other traders you know – your trading style must be picked and chosen by you. Your decision has to be based on what, how and when you wish to trade.

All of us understand that one market is closely correlated to another market. Once you have an experience and understanding of one currency, it seems logical to take advantage of this and trade several pairs. However, most successful traders are fully focused on just one pair (usually EUR/USD). Mastering one-pair forex trading allows you to understand the distinct “personality” of a selected pair and get confident with it. Despite the fact that one-pair traders could most probably use their knowledge to trade any other currency pair, they choose to stick with one.

The main reason for forex traders to focus on one currency pair is that multiple currency pairs requires much more work. Not all traders are able to handle all the information and correlation between currency pairs. Instead of concentrating on one pair, in most cases you spread the attention wide and end up with a headache, lower quality of trades and analysis, and greater risk of under performance because of neglect and loss of both attentive and passive observation of the forex market.

Obviously with one currency pair you might face fewer opportunities; however it doesn’t mean you will be less profitable. Many traders choose to become an expert in just one area rather than being an average in several.

Including other currency pairs to your trading plan may lead to extra pressures you are not always ready for and you might be exposed to less familiar trading style. Generally it isn’t easy to even follow one pair and fully understand all the WHYs involved in real time trading.

I personally tried to watch out for 3 pairs simultaneously and end up being less successful. I was missing out on a lot of information and therefore my personal trading style is just one pair. I am aware of the correlations with other pairs, but right now I only care about one graph. So for me, focusing on just one pair makes me more focused, precise and successful.

That being said, it should be emphasized once again that every trader has a different style. There is no right or wrong way to trade. In may ways trading style of one trader may appear too difficult and even unnecessary to other. All forex trading ways are unique, special and should be personalized according to your agenda.