A cross rate is an exchange rate between two currencies calculated through a third, rather than quoted directly. Because most currencies are quoted against the US dollar, a rate such as AUD/JPY is typically derived by combining AUD/USD and USD/JPY, then published as its own pair.
The mechanics are straightforward arithmetic. If one Australian dollar buys 0.65 US dollars, and one US dollar buys 150 yen, then one Australian dollar buys 97.5 yen. Markets do this continuously, so heavily traded crosses behave like directly quoted pairs even though the US dollar sits invisibly in the middle.
Cross rates matter to Australians because most AUD pairs beyond AUD/USD are crosses: the euro, yen, pound and the currencies of major remittance destinations all reach the Australian dollar through this kind of triangulation.
Tradergy computes its cross and reverse rates locally from official AUD-base reference series, so every derived figure traces back to the same sourced data as the headline pairs.
Longer read: How to read a currency pair, and why the order is only a convention. The three letters, the order they appear in, and the fact that the same rate can legitimately be written either way round. Where the codes come from and who decides them.
The practical companion to this definition is the currency converter pages.
Related terms
Currency pair · Mid-market rate · Spot rate · All terms
Primary authority: RBA: exchange-rate definitions and sources. Definition reviewed against the authority’s published material; this page is reference information, not advice.
Common questions
Are cross rates less accurate than direct quotes?
No. A cross rate is exact arithmetic over two directly quoted rates observed at the same moment. Liquid crosses such as AUD/JPY trade actively in their own right, and any gap between the derived and traded price is closed almost instantly by the market.
Why is the US dollar usually the middle currency?
The US dollar is on one side of most foreign-exchange trades worldwide, so USD quotes exist for nearly every currency and are the most liquid. That makes it the natural bridge for calculating a rate between two non-US currencies.
Is AUD/NZD a cross rate?
Yes. Neither side is the US dollar, so the trans-Tasman rate is technically a cross, derived through USD quotes where direct liquidity is thin. It is one of the most-watched crosses in this region because of the volume of travel and trade between the two economies.