Guide

AUDCAD and NZDCAD: why these two pairs

In Forex, not all currency pairs behave in the same way. Some follow long trends, others mostly oscillate between a floor and a ceiling. This guide explains why AUDCAD and NZDCAD belong rather to the second family, what thirty years of prices show, and why nothing guarantees this will last.

What are we talking about?

AUDCAD: the price of one Australian dollar in Canadian dollars. At 0.95, one Australian dollar is worth 0.95 Canadian dollars.
NZDCAD: the price of one New Zealand dollar in Canadian dollars.

These are known as “cross” pairs: neither of the two currencies is the US dollar.

Three economies that resemble each other

Australia, New Zealand and Canada have things in common:

Commodity exporters. Ores and coal for Australia, agricultural and dairy products for New Zealand, oil and metals for Canada. Their currencies often react to the same movements in the global economy.
Economies of comparable size and standard of living, with central banks that often pursue similar policies.

When a shock hits all three countries at once, their currencies often move in the same direction. The ratio between them varies less. That is what gives these pairs their tendency to move within ranges.

What thirty years of prices show

In monthly averages, since 1995:

Monthly averages of the rates published by the US Federal Reserve, from January 1995 to September 2026. Within a month, the price goes higher and lower.
Period	AUDCAD	NZDCAD
1995 to 2004	0.78 to 1.09	0.61 to 0.97
2005 to 2014	0.80 to 1.07	0.64 to 0.95
2015 to 2026	0.87 to 1.02	0.78 to 0.96
Since November 2022	0.87 to 0.99	0.79 to 0.86

Over thirty years, both pairs have stayed within a fairly wide band but without a lasting trend in one direction: so far, after each large swing, they have come back towards the middle of their range. It is this behaviour that suits a grid (see our guide grid and martingale).

The limits

A range is not a law. The same data also show:

Strong moves. Within twelve months, AUDCAD has already moved by more than 20% (late 2008 to late 2009), and NZDCAD by about 25% (early 2002 to early 2003). For a grid, such a move in one direction is the most dangerous scenario.
Breaks out of the range. In 2026, AUDCAD rose towards 0.99 in monthly average, its highest level since 2018, above the range of 0.87 to 0.93 in which it had stayed from late 2022 to late 2025.
Gaps that can last. A central bank decision, a crisis specific to one country or a lasting change in commodity prices can set off a long trend.

The past of these pairs explains why they were chosen. It does not tell you what they will do.

And why not AUDNZD?

If the three currencies are similar, the third pair, AUDNZD (the Australian dollar in New Zealand dollars), seems an obvious choice. It was tried before the official launch in November 2022, then dropped: the result was disappointing given the risk taken. On this pair, drawdowns were often very high, and more frequent than on AUDCAD and NZDCAD, for gains that did not justify them.

It is a good illustration of a general rule: a pair is not judged only by its gains, but by what you have to endure to get them. See our guide on floating drawdown.

And at PlanetFinance?

The PlanetFinance strategy trades only these two pairs, since November 2022. Limiting itself to two pairs makes it possible to know their behaviour well. The chart of both pairs over thirty years, updated automatically, is on the Risks page. The strategy is adapted to market conditions, but a long trend on either of the two pairs remains its main risk.