The Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index (short: DJ FXCM Index) is a currency index that tracks the strength of the US Dollar against a basket of the four most liquid currencies in the world. It is the product of collaboration between FXCM and S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index was designed to help traders assess whether the US Dollar is strengthening or weakening and is known for its transparency and simplicity. It reflects the change in value of the US Dollar measured against the basket of currencies: it rises when the US Dollar gains value relative to this basket and it falls when the opposite happens.
The basket contains the Euro, the British Pound, The Japanese Yen and the Australian Dollar in equal amounts, which are equally weighted. It is geographically balanced and accounts for 80% of worldwide Forex activity. The DJ FXCM Index was introduced on January 1, 2011, at a value of 10,000.00, is calculated every 15 seconds and updated Monday to Friday. It should not be mistaken for the much older and more complex US Dollar Index (DXY), which represents the weighted geometric mean of the US Dollar's value compared to six specific currencies. The weights were set according to trade weights and the Euro has the dominant weight in the DXY.
