How Exchange Rates Are Quoted

Currency quotations follow strict conventions that determine who pays what. Misunderstanding these conventions leads to costly errors—buying when you meant to sell, or calculating position sizes incorrectly. The FX market trades $7.5 trillion daily (BIS, 2022), and every transaction depends on participants agreeing on quote meaning. The point is: before you can trade, hedge, or analyze currencies, you need to read quotes correctly.

Base Currency and Quote Currency

Every exchange rate involves two currencies in a specific order. The first currency is the base currency; the second is the quote currency (also called the counter currency or terms currency).

The quotation tells you: How many units of the quote currency equal one unit of the base currency.

EUR/USD = 1.0850 means:

• Base currency: EUR
• Quote currency: USD
• Interpretation: 1 EUR = 1.0850 USD

USD/JPY = 149.50 means:

• Base currency: USD
• Quote currency: JPY
• Interpretation: 1 USD = 149.50 JPY

The durable lesson: The base currency is always "one unit." The quote currency is "how many."

Direct vs. Indirect Quotes

The same exchange relationship can be expressed two ways, depending on your home currency perspective.

Direct quote: Domestic currency per unit of foreign currency (foreign currency is base)

Indirect quote: Foreign currency per unit of domestic currency (domestic currency is base)

For a U.S.-based investor:

Key insight: Direct and indirect quotes are reciprocals.

USD/EUR = 1 / EUR/USD = 1 / 1.0850 = 0.9217

Market conventions: Major currencies have established quotation standards:

Why this matters: The convention determines how rate increases and decreases translate to currency strength or weakness.

• EUR/USD rises from 1.0850 to 1.1000: EUR strengthened (buys more USD)
• USD/JPY rises from 149.50 to 152.00: USD strengthened (buys more JPY)

Bid-Ask Spreads

Dealers quote two prices: the bid (where they'll buy the base currency) and the ask (where they'll sell the base currency). The spread is their profit margin and compensation for providing liquidity.

EUR/USD quote: 1.0848 / 1.0852

• Bid (1.0848): Dealer buys EUR, you sell EUR
• Ask (1.0852): Dealer sells EUR, you buy EUR
• Spread: 4 pips (1.0852 - 1.0848 = 0.0004)

Typical spreads for major pairs:

Spread widening signals:

• Low liquidity periods (Asian session for EUR crosses)
• High volatility (central bank announcements, economic data)
• Market stress (risk-off episodes, flash crashes)

The point is: spreads are transaction costs. A 3-pip spread on EUR/USD costs approximately 0.028% per round trip on notional value.

Pip Value Calculation

A pip (percentage in point) is the standard unit of price movement—typically the fourth decimal place (0.0001) for most pairs, or second decimal place (0.01) for JPY pairs.

Pip value formula:

Pip Value (in quote currency) = Pip Size × Position Size

Pip Value (in base currency) = (Pip Size × Position Size) / Exchange Rate

Example 1: EUR/USD position

• Position: Long EUR 100,000
• Pip size: 0.0001
• Current rate: 1.0850

Pip Value = 0.0001 × 100,000 = $10 per pip (in USD)

A 50-pip move = 50 × $10 = $500 profit or loss.

Example 2: USD/JPY position

• Position: Long USD 100,000
• Pip size: 0.01
• Current rate: 149.50

Pip Value = 0.01 × 100,000 = 1,000 JPY per pip

Converting to USD: 1,000 JPY / 149.50 = $6.69 per pip

A 50-pip move = 50 × $6.69 = $334.50 profit or loss.

Cross Rates

A cross rate is an exchange rate between two currencies that doesn't include USD. Since most currencies trade against USD as the primary vehicle, cross rates are derived from the USD rates.

Calculating EUR/JPY from USD rates:

Given:

• EUR/USD = 1.0850
• USD/JPY = 149.50

Method: EUR/JPY = EUR/USD × USD/JPY

EUR/JPY = 1.0850 × 149.50 = 162.21

Verification: 1 EUR = 1.0850 USD = 1.0850 × 149.50 JPY = 162.21 JPY

Calculating EUR/GBP:

Given:

• EUR/USD = 1.0850
• GBP/USD = 1.2650

Method: EUR/GBP = EUR/USD / GBP/USD

EUR/GBP = 1.0850 / 1.2650 = 0.8577

Why this matters: Cross rate calculation errors cause mispricing. If you're quoted EUR/JPY at 163.00 when your calculated rate is 162.21, either the USD rates moved or there's an arbitrage opportunity (more likely: your data is stale).

Worked Example: Converting Between Quote Conventions

Problem: A UK investor sees EUR/USD at 1.0850 and needs EUR/GBP to evaluate a European equity investment.

Step 1: Gather USD quotes

• EUR/USD = 1.0850
• GBP/USD = 1.2650

Step 2: Calculate cross rate

EUR/GBP = EUR/USD / GBP/USD = 1.0850 / 1.2650 = 0.8577

Interpretation: 1 EUR = 0.8577 GBP, or the investor pays GBP 857.70 per EUR 1,000.

Step 3: Convert to inverse quote if needed

GBP/EUR = 1 / 0.8577 = 1.1659

Interpretation: 1 GBP = 1.1659 EUR, or the investor receives EUR 1,165.90 per GBP 1,000.

Position Size Calculation

Determining appropriate position size requires understanding quote conventions and pip values.

Problem: You want to risk $500 maximum on a EUR/USD trade with a 50-pip stop loss.

Step 1: Calculate required pip value

Required Pip Value = Risk Amount / Stop Loss Pips Required Pip Value = $500 / 50 = $10 per pip

Step 2: Calculate position size

For EUR/USD, pip value = $10 per 100,000 EUR at 0.0001 pip size.

Position Size = Required Pip Value / Pip Value per Standard Lot Position Size = $10 / $10 = 1 standard lot (EUR 100,000)

Step 3: Calculate notional exposure

Notional = EUR 100,000 × 1.0850 = $108,500 USD exposure

Common Quotation Errors

Error 1: Reversing the direction

"EUR/USD fell, so EUR strengthened." Wrong. EUR/USD falling means EUR weakened (buys fewer USD).

Error 2: Ignoring the bid-ask for cost calculations

Calculating round-trip costs using mid-market rate ignores the actual spread cost.

Error 3: Mixing quote conventions

Trying to multiply EUR/USD × EUR/GBP instead of recognizing you need to divide when both have EUR as base.

Error 4: Forgetting JPY pip convention

Expecting USD/JPY pips at 0.0001 instead of 0.01 leads to 100x errors in pip value calculations.

Quick Reference: Quote Convention Rules

Multiplication rules for cross rates:

• When base currencies differ: Multiply (EUR/USD × USD/JPY = EUR/JPY)
• When base currencies match: Divide (EUR/USD / GBP/USD = EUR/GBP)

Pip size by pair:

Checklist: Reading FX Quotes Correctly

Essential (before any transaction)

• Identify base currency and quote currency
• Confirm bid vs. ask for your trade direction
• Calculate total spread cost in your position currency
• Verify pip size convention for the pair

High-Impact (for position management)

• Calculate pip value in your account currency
• Size positions based on risk tolerance and pip value
• Double-check cross rate calculations against market quotes
• Account for spread widening during volatile periods

Your Next Step

Pull up quotes for three currency pairs you follow. For each:

1. Write down bid, ask, and spread in pips
2. Calculate pip value for a 100,000 base currency position
3. Determine how a 1% move translates to pips and P&L

This exercise builds fluency in reading quotes quickly—essential before executing any currency transaction.

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Related: Spot vs. Forward FX Markets | Dollar Index Composition and Signals | Interest Rate Differentials and Carry

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Sources: Bank for International Settlements (2022). Triennial Central Bank Survey. | CME Group (2024). FX Futures and Options.