Forex List

Retrieve comprehensive information about actively traded currency pairs in the global forex market using the Octagon MCP server.

Prerequisites

Ensure Octagon MCP is configured in your AI agent (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, etc.). See references/mcp-setup.md for installation instructions.

Workflow

1. Define Scope

Determine which currency pair categories you want to explore:

Majors: USD paired with major currencies
Crosses: Major currencies without USD
Exotics: Emerging market currencies

2. Execute Query via Octagon MCP

Use the octagon-agent tool with a natural language prompt:

Retrieve a full listing of actively traded currency pairs in the global forex market.

MCP Call Format:

{
  "server": "octagon-mcp",
  "toolName": "octagon-agent",
  "arguments": {
    "prompt": "Retrieve a full listing of actively traded currency pairs in the global forex market."
  }
}

3. Expected Output

The agent returns categorized currency pair information:

Currency Pair	Description/Reason for Activity
EUR/USD	Most liquid pair, Eurozone and U.S. economic interdependence
GBP/USD	High liquidity, sensitive to U.K./U.S. macroeconomic data
USD/JPY	Japanese Yen safe-haven status, U.S. interest rates
AUD/USD	Commodity price trends, Australian/U.S. economic cycles
USD/CHF	Swiss Franc safe-haven, U.S. monetary policy
CAD/USD	Oil prices, North American economic indicators
EUR/CHF	Range-bound markets, Euro-Swiss Franc correlations
AUD/NZD	Cross-Pacific trade, commodity-linked volatility

Data Sources: octagon-crypto-agent, octagon-web-search-agent

4. Interpret Results

See references/interpreting-results.md for guidance on:

Understanding currency pair categories
Analyzing liquidity and volatility
Identifying key drivers
Selecting pairs for trading

Example Queries

Full Listing:

Retrieve a full listing of actively traded currency pairs in the global forex market.

Major Pairs:

List the major currency pairs with USD.

Cross Pairs:

What are the most liquid cross currency pairs?

Exotic Pairs:

List emerging market currency pairs.

Specific Focus:

Which currency pairs are most sensitive to oil prices?

Currency Pair Categories

Major Pairs (USD Based)

Pair	Base/Quote	Nickname
EUR/USD	Euro / US Dollar	Fiber
GBP/USD	British Pound / US Dollar	Cable
USD/JPY	US Dollar / Japanese Yen	Gopher
USD/CHF	US Dollar / Swiss Franc	Swissie
AUD/USD	Australian Dollar / US Dollar	Aussie
USD/CAD	US Dollar / Canadian Dollar	Loonie
NZD/USD	New Zealand Dollar / US Dollar	Kiwi

Cross Pairs (Non-USD)

Pair	Base/Quote	Category
EUR/GBP	Euro / British Pound	Euro Cross
EUR/JPY	Euro / Japanese Yen	Euro Cross
EUR/CHF	Euro / Swiss Franc	Euro Cross
GBP/JPY	British Pound / Japanese Yen	Pound Cross
AUD/JPY	Australian Dollar / Japanese Yen	Yen Cross
AUD/NZD	Australian Dollar / New Zealand Dollar	Commodity Cross

Exotic Pairs

Pair	Base/Quote	Region
USD/MXN	US Dollar / Mexican Peso	Americas
USD/ZAR	US Dollar / South African Rand	Africa
USD/TRY	US Dollar / Turkish Lira	Europe/Asia
USD/SGD	US Dollar / Singapore Dollar	Asia
EUR/PLN	Euro / Polish Zloty	Europe
USD/HKD	US Dollar / Hong Kong Dollar	Asia

Understanding Currency Pairs

Base vs. Quote Currency

EUR/USD = 1.10

Component	In Example
Base Currency	EUR (first)
Quote Currency	USD (second)
Meaning	1 EUR = 1.10 USD
If pair rises	Base strengthens
If pair falls	Base weakens

Bid/Ask Spread

Concept	Description
Bid	Price to sell base
Ask	Price to buy base
Spread	Ask - Bid (cost to trade)

Liquidity and Volume

By Daily Volume

Tier	Pairs	Typical Volume
Tier 1	EUR/USD	Highest
Tier 2	USD/JPY, GBP/USD	Very High
Tier 3	AUD/USD, USD/CAD, USD/CHF	High
Tier 4	Cross Pairs	Moderate
Tier 5	Exotic Pairs	Lower

Spread Implications

Liquidity	Typical Spread
Very High (EUR/USD)	0.5-1 pips
High (USD/JPY)	1-2 pips
Moderate (Crosses)	2-5 pips
Low (Exotics)	5-50+ pips

Key Drivers by Pair

EUR/USD Drivers

Factor	Impact
ECB Policy	Euro direction
Fed Policy	USD direction
EU Economic Data	Growth, inflation
US Economic Data	Employment, GDP
Risk Sentiment	Dollar haven flows

USD/JPY Drivers

Factor	Impact
BoJ Policy	Yen direction
Fed Policy	USD direction
Risk Appetite	Yen weakens on risk-on
Yield Differentials	Carry trade flows
Intervention Risk	BoJ action

Commodity Currency Drivers

Pair	Key Commodity Link
AUD/USD	Iron ore, gold
USD/CAD	Oil prices
NZD/USD	Dairy, agriculture

Trading Sessions

Session Times (UTC)

Session	Hours	Key Pairs
Sydney	21:00-06:00	AUD, NZD
Tokyo	00:00-09:00	JPY pairs
London	07:00-16:00	EUR, GBP
New York	12:00-21:00	USD pairs

Overlap Periods

Overlap	Highest Volatility Pairs
London/New York	EUR/USD, GBP/USD
Tokyo/London	EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY
Sydney/Tokyo	AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY

Volatility Characteristics

By Pair Type

Type	Volatility	Predictability
Majors	Moderate	Higher
Crosses	Variable	Moderate
Exotics	High	Lower

Typical Daily Ranges

Pair	Avg Daily Range
EUR/USD	50-100 pips
GBP/USD	80-150 pips
USD/JPY	50-100 pips
GBP/JPY	100-200 pips
Exotics	100-500+ pips

Common Use Cases

Market Overview

What are the most actively traded forex pairs?

Trading Selection

Which pairs have the tightest spreads?

Risk Analysis

Which currency pairs are most volatile?

Correlation Study

What pairs move together with oil prices?

Session Planning

What pairs are most active during Asian session?

Analysis Tips

Start with majors: Most liquid, tightest spreads.
Understand correlations: EUR/USD and USD/CHF often inverse.
Match session to pair: Trade pairs during their active hours.
Consider spreads: Exotics cost more to trade.
Know the drivers: Central banks, data releases, geopolitics.
Monitor risk sentiment: Affects safe-haven flows.

Integration with Other Skills

Skill	Combined Use
forex-quote	Real-time pair prices
commodities-quote	Commodity currency context
stock-historical-index	Risk sentiment context
sector-performance-snapshot	Global macro view

forex-list