Dxy
Family XII · Other terms
Not to be confused with us30, nas100, exchange rate.
DXY is the ticker for the U.S. Dollar Index, a benchmark that measures the dollar against a basket of six currencies: the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Canadian dollar, Swedish krona, and Swiss franc. It is calculated as a weighted geometric mean, with the euro dominating at roughly 57% of the total weight. The index is used to gauge the dollar's overall strength or weakness in global markets.
Composition and weights
The DXY basket and weights are fixed and were set when the index began in 1973. The current weights are approximately:
- Euro (EUR): 57.6%
- Japanese yen (JPY): 13.6%
- British pound (GBP): 11.9%
- Canadian dollar (CAD): 9.1%
- Swedish krona (SEK): 4.2%
- Swiss franc (CHF): 3.6%
Because the euro has the largest weight, the DXY often moves inversely to EUR/USD. The index is calculated continuously during trading hours and is quoted to two decimal places.
Worked example
Suppose the DXY is at 90.00. If the euro appreciates by 1% against the dollar while all other currencies remain unchanged, the DXY will change by approximately the euro's weight times the percentage change. The calculation is:
This simplified linear approximation ignores second-order effects and changes in other currencies. In practice, the geometric formula produces a slightly different result, but the euro's dominant weight is clear.
Interpretation and uses
A rising DXY indicates a stronger dollar relative to the basket, while a falling DXY indicates a weaker dollar. Traders and analysts use the index to assess the dollar's broad trend, to hedge currency exposure, or to speculate on dollar direction. The DXY is not a currency pair and cannot be traded directly, but futures and options on the index are available on exchanges. Its value is influenced by U.S. interest rates, economic data, and global risk sentiment.
Often confused with
- us30
- US30 is a nickname for a price index that tracks 30 large, publicly listed U.S. companies, most commonly the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and is offered by brokers as a tradable cash or derivative product.
- nas100
- The NAS100 is a stock index that tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, weighted by market capitalisation and quoted as a price index.
- exchange rate
- An exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in units of another, determined in foreign-exchange markets and used to convert values between the two monetary areas.