Cross pair (no US dollar)
AUD/CAD through the Lens: two commodity currencies, one cross
AUD/CAD is the price of one Australian dollar in Canadian dollars. It is a cross between two commodity-linked currencies, built from AUD/USD and USD/CAD, so broad US dollar moves largely cancel out. It tends to move in slower, range-bound stretches, and SMC traders read it mainly through its dealing range and the liquidity at its edges.
Pair facts
| Base currency | AUD (Australian dollar) |
|---|---|
| Quote currency | CAD (Canadian dollar) |
| Type | Cross pair (no US dollar) |
| One pip | 0.0001 |
| Usual quote | 5 decimals (the last digit is a tenth of a pip) |
| Pip value, standard lot (100,000 AUD) | 10 CAD |
| Pip value, mini lot (10,000 AUD) | 1 CAD |
| Pip value, micro lot (1,000 AUD) | 0.1 CAD |
Pip values are exact in the quote currency (CAD). In another account currency they change with the exchange rate. No prices, no levels, no forecasts on this page: it is a description of the pair, not a view on it.
What AUD/CAD is
AUD/CAD pairs the Australian dollar, managed by the Reserve Bank of Australia, with the Canadian dollar, managed by the Bank of Canada. Neither side is the US dollar, so it is a cross. Dealers derive its price from the two dollar pairs, AUD/USD and USD/CAD.
Both currencies are tied to raw materials, but to different ones. Australia leans toward metals and coal with Asia as its main customer; Canada leans toward oil and gas with the United States as its main customer. The cross therefore tends to reflect the relative fortunes of those two worlds, along with the gap between the two central banks. When the US dollar moves broadly, both legs usually move together and the cross changes little.
When AUD/CAD moves
The two home markets sit far apart. Australian data arrives in Sydney hours, the New York evening; Canadian data arrives in the North American morning. The cross can stir at either end of the day and drift in between. European hours often add little of their own.
On the ForexLens clock, in New York time, the Asia kill zone of 20:00 to 00:00 covers the Australian side and the New York window of 07:00 to 10:00 covers the Canadian side. The London window of 02:00 to 05:00 is usually the least eventful of the three for this pair.
How AUD/CAD tends to behave
AUD/CAD is usually one of the quieter pairs on this site. Because its two currencies share many influences, it often spends long periods moving sideways inside a range, with fewer of the one-way runs seen on yen crosses. Its spread is usually wider than on the majors, which matters more when moves are small.
Quiet does not mean safe. A range can end abruptly on a central bank surprise from either country, and a wide spread on a slow pair eats a larger share of any move.
How smart money concepts are applied to AUD/CAD
On a pair that ranges, the most useful SMC tools are the ones about value. Traders frame price inside its dealing range, with premium above the midpoint and discount below, and treat the liquidity said to rest above the range high and below the range low as the obvious targets. Equal highs and equal lows form often in sideways markets and are read the same way.
A push beyond the range that closes back inside is read as a liquidity sweep; a close beyond it with displacement is read as a real break of structure. Telling the two apart is the whole skill, and nobody gets it right every time. The Dealing Range game drills the framing.
AUD/CAD questions
What is the pip value of AUD/CAD?
A pip on AUD/CAD is the fourth decimal place, and the quote currency is the Canadian dollar. One pip is worth 10 Canadian dollars on a standard lot of 100,000 Australian dollars, 1 Canadian dollar on a mini lot and 10 cents on a micro lot. Accounts in other currencies convert that amount at the current rate.
What moves AUD/CAD?
Mostly the differences between Australia and Canada: what the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Bank of Canada are expected to do with rates, how metals are doing compared with oil, and how Asian demand compares with North American demand. Broad US dollar moves tend to affect both legs alike, so they matter less here than on a major.
Is AUD/CAD a slow pair?
Usually, compared with the majors and the yen crosses. Its two currencies respond to many of the same forces, so their moves partly offset and the cross often ranges. It can still move sharply when one of the two central banks surprises the market. Its wider spread is a real cost on a pair where moves are small.
Other pairs
Practise on simulated charts
ForexLens games use simulated prices on several pairs. Start with structure, then liquidity and sessions.