The US Dollar is the most common currency that is commonly quoted in trade across the globe. It is one of the most popular currencies in the world. However, there are several other currencies that are actually not affected by the US Dollar movements in the forex market. These currencies may not be as popular as the US Dollar; nevertheless, they hold their own importance and are backed by several factors in their own countries that make them hold their ground strongly, in case of Dollar fluctuations.

The Euro:

European Union decided to have its own currency in 1999 and introduced it in the forms of coins and notes by the year 2002. Since then, the Euro has been one of the strongest contenders against the US Dollar. The EU consists of Austria, Belgium, Greece, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Socialist countries, which are also the largest countries of EU, hold the reigns of government budget deficits. The ECB or the European Central Bank is the lead bank that decides the monetary policies and aims to keep a check on inflation rather than keeping a check on economic contraction. The ECB has kept steady interest rates in past when there had been an economic slow down. Thus interest rates or adjustments in Euro exchange rates are less frequent.

The Japanese Yen:

Japan is a net importer of goods. However, the US and Europe are its major customer for its machinery and other production. Japan especially needs crude oil to keep its economic machinery running like clockwork. Bank of Japan faced one of the major deflationary crises in 1990s when it was compelled to switch to zero interest policy. At this time, Yen experienced the carry trade – when an entity buys a currency at zero interest rate and parks it in another account with high interest rates. In 1990s, the US treasury bonds and German bunds witnessed many such transactions. This means that the Japanese Yen shall always trade lower against the Euro and US Dollar which gives Yen/Euro trade as a viable pair. The only contention offered to this trade is the Chinese Yuan. China is one of the biggest competitors of Japan. Since china also artificially floats its currency, it may weaken the Yen’s value eventually.

The British Pound:

Britain has oil production in North Sea which can influence its economy. This means that Britain has energy reserves and thus, whenever the oil prices have gone high in past, so has the British pound. However, Britain has been experiencing a net increase in its demand for natural gas which has made it as a net importer of natural gas. This means that if there are any outrageous price spikes in the commodity, it would lead Britain to economic exposure. If oil prices start to head north rapidly, Bank of England may need to keep inflation in check and consumer spending may be severely affected. The British pound is also susceptible to strengthening of European currency. Thus, trading Euro with Pound can be quite a liquid trading relationship.

The Canadian Dollar

It is also referred to as "the Loonie" as it has the bird, huard, on its coin. Loony is the French for huard. Bank of Canada is country’s central bank that dictated the monetary policies for the nation. It holds eight meetings in a year to decide upon the interest rates policy. Canada is also world’s second largest reserve for crude oil with more than 175 billion barrels of reserves. The US is its main customer and if there is an increase in the oil prices, they would further strengthen the Canadian Dollar.

The Swiss Franc

It is commonly known as the "the Swissy". It is one currency that is capable of outperforming the Euro if there is dissention between the EU members. It is backed by gold thus is considered one of the safest currencies. Inflation, economic contraction, political stability and excessive economic growth are some of the factors that affect performance of the Swissy.

The Canadian Dollar traded at a 1-month high after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point to 3 percent increasing Canada's interest rates advantage over the US. ''The Canadian dollar looks good on a short-term basis,'' said Steve Butler, director of foreign exchange trading at Scotia Capital Inc. in Toronto. ''We'll see a little bit of a boost just on an interest-rate differential. I don't see the Canadian dollar doing a whole lot better. It may touch 98.50 cents per US dollar in the next day or so.'' The Bank of Canada cut its interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4 percent on the 22nd of January. In an emergency move the same day, the Federal Reserve cut its federal funds target by three-quarters of a percentage point, prompting the Canadian Dollar to hit a 1-month high. The US borrowing rate is lower than Canada's for the first time in three years.

In forex trading buyers supported the Canadian Dollar, hitting a 1-month high by rising up to 0.5 percent to 99.31 Canadian cents per US Dollar, up from yesterday's 99.84.

The Canadian Dollar hit a 5-week low in forex trading as investors sold higher yielding assets as concerns increased on slowing economic growth amid weaker manufacturing shipments and a continuation of the U.S. subprime issue. The Canadian Dollar, alongside the Australian Dollar, fell its second time in a week as government bonds rose as traders sold stocks and commodities such as gold. Barclays Plc, the United Kingdom's third largest bank, said it wrote down about 2.7 billion U.S. Dollars on credit related securities tied to the U.S. subprime mortgage collapse. ''The general theme of risk aversion will continue to push the Canadian dollar lower,'' said Jonathan Gencher, a vice president of foreign exchange sales in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets. ''The market continues to off-load some very long Canadian dollar positions.''

In forex trading, the Canadian Dollar fell 1.8 percent to 98.67 U.S. cents, its lowest level since October 9. The Canadian Dollar has fallen a total 8 percent since hitting its highest level of 90.58 U.S. cents per 1 U.S. Dollar on November 7.

The Canadian Dollar reaches its highest level in 30 years as surging commodity prices increased the nation's exports and increased its economic growth. The Canadian Dollar also posted its biggest weekly advance against the the U.S. Dollar since September 1998 as crude oil rose to a record and gold traded at more than $700 an ounce. The strength in the Canadian Dollar has prompted speculation that it may trade on the same level as the U.S. Dollar for the first time since November, 1976. ''Parity is in the cards if the strength in commodities remains firm,'' said Tom Fitzpatrick, global head of currency strategy at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. In this past week, the Canadian Dollar advanced against the 16 most actively traded currencies except the Brazilian Real and the N.Z. Dollar. Alongside the Australian Dollar, the Canadian Dollar may continue its gains through to the second week as The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to cut its borrowing rate from 5.25 percent on September 18, making these currencies more attractive.

In the forex trade, the Canadian Dollar rose 2.5 percent against its U.S. counterpart to reach 97.09 U.S. cents. It reached a high of 97.30 U.S. cents which is its strongest since February, 1977. In percentage terms, the Canadian Dollar gained 1.7 percent against the Euro, 4.3 percent against the Japanese Yen and 3.5 percent against the Pound Sterling.

The Canadian Dollar is stronger after a government report revealed that its trade surplus has increased to its highest level since December 2005. The Canadian Dollar's strengthened despite another government report revealing that there were fewer jobs created last month. Canada's trade surplus increased to 5.76 billion Canadian Dollars from 5.1 billion earlier in March. ''Today's economic data is net positive for the Canadian dollar,'' said Dustin Reid, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at ABN Amro Inc. in Chicago. ''In an environment where people are avoiding risk and readjusting their portfolios, we shouldn't expect bigger gains.''

The Canadian Dollar had recently hit a 30-year high of 94.79 U.S cents after its central bank held its target rate overnight on May 29. Speculation has also increased that the Bank of Canada will raise its borrowing rates twice before the end of 2007. ``The Canadian dollar is back on track nicely after a good shakeout,'' said Steve Butler, director of foreign exchange trading at Scotia Capital Inc., a unit of Canada's second largest lender. ''Investors understand the Bank of Canada is still on track for a hike in interest rates in July.''

In the foreign exchange, the Canadian Dollar traded at 94.28 U.S. cents in comparison to a previous trade of 93.91 U.S. cents.

The Australian Dollar has also recently hit an unexpected 18 year high amidst the release of data revealing strong economic growth.

The Canadian Dollar has reached a 30 year high, riding on the strong prices of their commodity exports. Crude oil delivery rose 1.6 percent to $1.02 to settle at $65.20 a barrel. The value of gold, silver and copper also rose. Commodity trade accounts for 54 percent of Canadian exports. ``The price of commodities provides a long-term support for the Canadian dollar,'' said Francois Barriere, vice president for foreign exchange services at Laurentian Bank of Canada in Montreal. ``Long-term fundamentals are still very, very good for Canada. I see no reason why we shouldn't go to parity in the next 12 to 15 months.'' Weak U.S. home sales had caused the U.S. Dollar to fall, thus giving the Canadian Dollar a boost.

The Canadian Dollar has also hit a 15-year high against the Japanese Yen, with investors taking advantage of carry trades. Japan's relatively low interest rate of 0.5 percent compared to Canada's 4.25 percent encourages investors to borrow the Japanese Yen for investment towards higher yielding assets. ''The carry trade continues to be a favored trade, and Canada-yen is no exception on that front,'' said Matthew Perrier, vice president of foreign exchange sales in Toronto at BMO Capital Markets.

In the foreign exchange, the Canadian Dollar traded at 92.64 U.S. cents after managing to hit 92.79 U.S. cents, which is its highest level since October 3, 1979. The Canadian Dollar previously traded at 92.27 U.S. cents. The Canadian Dollar also traded at 112.88 Japanese Yen.

The Canadian dollar has surged to 90.45 cents as the may jobless report shows that the unemployment rate has done down to 6.1%, which is the lowest point since December 1974.

The Canadian economy aquired 97,000 jobs in May which helped push down unemployment.

The dollar took off on the feeling that the positive employment news could support tighter interest rates in the months to come, BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Douglas Porter said in a research note.

"With U.S. growth clearly losing momentum and equity markets stumbling, the bank is likely to stay on hold for the next meeting in July, but the drum-tight labour market will keep their tightening bias very much intact and a post-Labour Day tightening is now a distinct possibility", BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Douglas Porter said.