The forex market (or foreign exchange market) is the world’s largest market. Here, currencies worth almost US$3 trillion are
bought and sold on a daily basis. Moreover, the market is characterized by high liquidity, with traders being able to open
and close positions within seconds. These factors cause regular fluctuations in currency prices, making it difficult for an
individual to keep track of exchange rates. Hence, the need for an exchange rate calculator. A forex calculator is
a type of financial calculator that offers a quick and easy way to convert any currency to another.
Foreign Exchange Calculator: Types
There are various types of foreign exchange calculators that help businesses, travelers and traders get current information in
a convenient way. These include:
Shortlist Currency Calculators: While there are close to 200 currencies being traded in the forex market, most traders deal
in only a handful of them. Over 85% of all daily transactions in the forex market involve trading in the major currencies -
US Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. A large number of currencies are not
commonly used in international trade. A shortlist currency calculator is a forex calculator that supports only the most common
currencies. These calculators are updated frequently and provide fairly accurate conversions.
Longform Currency Calculators: These calculators support a variety of currencies, including the lesser known currencies. Longform
currency calculators typically provide conversions between 50 currencies. These calculators are more cumbersome to use and are
costlier than the shortlist currency calculators.
Currency Converters with History: These calculators not only provide numeric conversions between currencies, but also
historical data on various currencies. A currency converter with history allows you to access the exchange rate between
currencies on a particular date in the past. While some currency converters with history are updated on a daily basis, others are
updated automatically several times a day.
Cross Rate Calculators: Such calculators enable users to view a large variety of exchange rates at once. A cross rate
calculator lets you set a base amount for comparisons and displays a matrix of exchange rates and conversions. Such calculators
provide a more comprehensive picture of the forex market.