Pairs that do not include the US dollar, such as EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, GBP/JPY.
Minor pairs - also called cross pairs or simply crosses - are currency pairs that exclude the US dollar. The most liquid are the euro crosses (EUR/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/CHF, EUR/AUD) and the sterling and yen crosses (GBP/JPY, GBP/CHF, AUD/JPY, NZD/JPY). Despite the 'minor' label, pairs like EUR/JPY and GBP/JPY generate hundreds of billions of dollars in daily volume and are heavily traded by institutional desks as well as active retail participants.
Spreads on minors are typically wider than on the equivalent major pairs because the cross rate is effectively derived from two dollar pairs. EUR/JPY, for instance, can be reconstructed by buying EUR/USD and simultaneously selling USD/JPY; the broker's spread on the cross reflects the combined cost of both underlying pairs plus its own margin. In practice, cross spreads range from 0.3–1 pip on the most liquid EUR-crosses to 3–5 pips or more on less liquid combinations like EUR/NZD or GBP/AUD.
Cross pairs offer trading opportunities driven by relative economic performance between two non-US economies - for example, EUR/GBP during UK/EU political events, or AUD/JPY as a risk-sentiment barometer. Their directional drivers can differ from major pairs, making them useful for diversifying a portfolio beyond pure USD exposure or for trading a specific fundamental thesis without USD interference.