Forex glossary
USD/CAD (Loonie)
USD/CAD states Canadian dollars per US dollar. USD is the base and CAD the quote currency. Policy expectations and economic factors can affect the rate; labeling CAD a commodity currency does not guarantee a fixed relationship with oil prices.
Illustrative example
How does it work in practice?
At a hypothetical USD/CAD rate of 1.3500 CAD per USD, 1,000 USD is valued at 1,350 CAD. A rise to 1.3600 increases its CAD value by 10 CAD before costs.
A case to work through
Two kinds of dollar
Model: long 2,000 USD, rate rises from 1.3500 to 1.3600 CAD/USD; convert at 1.3600 without costs.
- Price P/L is 2,000 × 0.0100 = 20 CAD.
- Conversion gives 20/1.3600 ≈ 14.71 USD.
What follows? Label price P/L CAD and converted P/L USD.
Example boundary: The conversion rate is assumed; provider rules and fees may differ.
A useful distinction
USD/CAD (Loonie) / AUD/USD (the aussie)
AUD/USD has USD as quote currency; USD/CAD has USD as base.
Check your understanding
Calculate quote-currency P/L before conversion.
Show the answer and explanation
20 USD
27 CAD / 1.35 CAD/USD = 20 USD.
Pair units and result currency
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Related terms
Sources and documentation
- ECB: euro reference exchange rates
Currency units and reference quotations, not executable prices or invented case datasets.
- Saxo: major-pair convention
A common retail majors list rather than legal margin categories.
The example illustrates the mechanism. Check current account conditions and instrument specifications with the provider.