Obscure Crosses

While the euro and yen crosses are the most liquid crosses, more crosses exist don't even include the U.S. dollar, euro, or the yen! We'll call these the "Obscure Crosses"!

If we were in school - come to think of it, we actually are in school! - the major pairs would be the jocks while the obscure crosses would be the eccentric emo kids.

That's because most traders would rather hang out with the cool crowd than the obscure crosses!

We're talking about really weird combinations like AUD/CHF, AUD/NZD, CAD/CHF, and GBP/CHF. That's why we call them obscure crosses (duh!).

Trading in these pairs is more difficult and riskier than trading euro or yen crosses. Since very few traders trade them, transaction volume is much lower and liquidity can be difficult at times.

Due to the illiquid markets for these crosses, their prices can become quite volatile, so being stopped out on whipsaws can become a common occurrence.

Check out these screenshots of AUD/CHF and GBP/CHF:

You don't want to get stopped out by those nasty spikes, do you? That's why most traders usually put wider stops when trading these pairs.But judging from the choppy movement of obscure crosses, it would really be tough to catch a good trade on these pairs. Unless you're a currency cross guru like Cyclopip, of course!

See what we mean?

Also, since these pairs aren't traded too much, the spreads on these pairs can be pretty big.

If you want to trade these crosses, just be ready for some wild price swings and be willing to pay the price of the massive spread!