By THE INVESTOPEDIA TEAM Updated June 27, 2023Reviewed by SOMER ANDERSONFact checked by SUZANNE KVILHAUGWhat Are Currency Pairs?Currency pairs combine the currencies of two countries. Each currency has a value and the relationship of those values contributes to the price of the pairs. So does trader interest.Currencies are always traded in pairs because when you buy or sell one currency, you automatically sell or buy another. (E.g., think about paying U.S. dollars when buying foreign currency for a trip abroad.)In every currency pair, there is a base currency and a quote currency. The base currency is the first currency shown, on the left. The quote currency is the second currency, on the right.The price for a currency pair is the amount of the quoted currency required to purchase one unit of the base currency.So, for example, with the EUR/USD currency pair, and USD is the quote currency. A currency pair price of 1.2000 means that 1.20 U.S. dollars are needed to buy one euro, or one euro is worth 1.20 U.S. dollars.