Forex Conventions
Currency symbols have evolved over the years and predate the computer
era. Over the past few decades, dealers increasingly have come to accept
the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
(SWIFT) codes as a standard, although many older codes remain. The
SWIFT foreign currency symbols are the international standard for currency
codes established by the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO). Each currency symbol has a three-letter code. The ISO 4217
currency codes list is the standard in banking and business all over the
world.
Since there is no universal standard of value for currency valuation
(e.g., the price of oil or wheat is usually expressed in U.S. dollars), the value
of a currency has meaning only when it is expressed in terms of another
currency. One wag has said that the FOREX market is the largest barter
market in the world.
Selected Currency Codes
USD—U.S. dollar
EUR—Eurozone euro
CHF—Swiss franc
GBP—British pound
JPY—Japanese yen
CAD—Canadian dollar
AUD—Australian dollar
NZD—New Zealand dollar
A comprehensive
list also is available in the Global-View Learning Center at www.globalview.
com/forex-trading-tools/swifta.html.