Quoting Currency Pairs
Currencies are quoted in pairs, such as EUR/USD or EUR/JPY. The first listed currency is known as the base currency, while the second is called the counter or quote currency. The base currency is the "basis" for the buy or the sell. For example, if you BUY EUR/USD you have bought Euros (simultaneously sold dollars). You would do so in expectation that the Euro will appreciate (go up) relative to the US dollar.
Example: EUR/USD
In this example Euro is the base currency and therefore the "basis" for the buy/sell. If you believe that the US economy will continue to weaken and this will hurt the US dollar, you would execute a BUY EUR/USD order. By doing so you have bought Euros in the expectation that they will appreciate versus the US dollar. If you believe that the US economy is strong and the Euro will weaken against the US dollar you would execute a SELL EUR/USD order. By doing so you have sold Euros in the expectation that they will depreciate versus the US dollar.
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