AUDUSD definition

AUD/USD is the exchange rate between the Australian dollar and the US dollar, showing how many US dollars one Australian dollar will buy. It is one of the major pairs, accounting for about 4.9% of the roughly $9.6 trillion that changes hands in the global forex market each day (BIS Triennial Survey, 2025), which keeps liquidity high and spreads tight. It is widely nicknamed the "Aussie".

The Australian dollar is the base currency and the US dollar the quote currency, so a quote of 0.6600 means one Australian dollar is worth 0.6600 US dollars. A rising price means the Aussie is strengthening against the greenback, a falling price the reverse. You trade AUD/USD as a forex CFD, taking a position on the price rather than buying Australian dollars outright: go long if you expect it to rise, short if you expect it to fall. Pips are counted at the fourth decimal place, and your result is the pips gained or lost multiplied by your position size.

The Aussie is a classic risk-on, commodity-linked currency. It takes its lead from the Reserve Bank of Australia, but it is just as sensitive to Chinese demand and to the price of iron ore, Australia's biggest export, so a strong Chinese growth outlook tends to lift it. When global risk appetite fades, the Aussie usually falls as traders rotate out of higher-beta currencies, making it a useful barometer of sentiment.