The dollar rose against every major currency except the yen in the week to 28 September 2026
A look at how the dollar moved against the euro, pound, franc, Canadian and Australian dollars, and yen that week, with each move set against what counts as a normal day for that pair.
Read more currency analysisFive currencies fell against the dollar, one rose
Between the ECB fixing of 21 September 2026 and that of 28 September, the dollar gained against five of the six currencies pitforex tracks against it. The yen was the exception, and it moved the other way.
The five currencies that fell against the dollar
- The euro fell 0.97% against the dollar, taking EUR/USD to 1.1378 at the 28 September fixing.
- The pound fell 0.98% against the dollar.
- The Canadian dollar fell 1.14% against the US dollar.
- The Swiss franc fell 1.25% against the dollar, taking USD/CHF to 0.8318 at the 28 September fixing, its highest since at least 1 July.
- The Australian dollar fell 1.59% against the US dollar, the largest fall of the five.
These are our own calculations from European Central Bank reference rates. They could contain errors, and each one is already out of date by the time it is read.
Why the same dollar move shows up as a fall in some pairs and a rise in others
EUR/USD, GBP/USD and AUD/USD quote the dollar as the second currency in the pair, so a stronger dollar pushes each of those pairs down. That is why the euro, pound and Australian dollar all moved lower this week even where the move behind them was the same dollar move. USD/CHF and USD/CAD quote the dollar first, so the same dollar strength instead pushed those two pairs up. Quoted as a pair, USD/CHF rose 1.26% over the week and USD/CAD rose 1.15%.
The yen moved the other way
The yen rose 0.25% against the dollar, the only one of the six to gain. Quoted as a pair, USD/JPY fell 0.25% over the same week, the mirror image of the rise in USD/CHF and USD/CAD.
The week, currency by currency, against the ECB fixing
The table below sets out each currency's change against the dollar between the ECB fixing of 21 September 2026 and the fixing of 28 September 2026. All six figures are our own calculation from European Central Bank reference rates, published for information purposes, and each could contain errors.
| Currency | Change vs USD, 21–28 Sept 2026 |
|---|---|
| Euro | −0.97% |
| Pound | −0.98% |
| Canadian dollar | −1.14% |
| Swiss franc | −1.25% |
| Australian dollar | −1.59% |
| Yen | +0.25% |
The Australian dollar's fall was the largest of the six. The yen was the only one of the six to gain over the period.
The same moves, quoted as pairs
Read the other way round, USD/CHF rose 1.26% and USD/CAD rose 1.15% between the same two fixings, our own calculation from European Central Bank reference rates. USD/JPY fell 0.25% over the same stretch. USD/CHF closed the period at 0.8318 at the fixing of 28 September 2026, its highest level since at least 1 July, our own calculation from European Central Bank reference rates.
Size against the typical day
A pair's typical day, in our own terms, is the standard deviation of its daily changes over the previous 20 ECB fixings, expressed in pips. It is the baseline against which a week like this one is read: a move that is large in pips can still be unremarkable for a pair that usually swings by that much in a single session, and a smaller move can be the larger one once set against a quieter pair's typical day.
EUR/USD and USD/CHF moved together
Over the 40 fixings to 28 September 2026, daily changes in EUR/USD and USD/CHF carried a correlation of −0.84, our own calculation from European Central Bank reference rates. A coefficient that close to −1 means the two pairs moved in opposite directions on almost every one of those days, which is consistent with the euro and the franc both losing ground to the dollar across the week while moving as something close to a single position against it.
The chart accompanying this timeline is drawn from the same European Central Bank reference-rate series, dated to each fixing it plots.
Sources and what would change this reading
Sources
The figures referenced in this piece are the European Central Bank's daily reference rates for the dates named. The ECB sets these rates at approximately 14:10 CET and publishes them at approximately 16:00 CET, for information purposes only. They are not dealing prices, and each one was already out of date by the time it reached publication. Percentage changes and normal-day multiples drawn from those rates are our own calculations from ECB reference rates.
What would change this reading
A pattern that holds across most tracked currencies while one currency moves the other way points toward a factor affecting the dollar broadly. That reading would need revising if the exception turned out to share the same driver once a longer run of fixings is available, or if several of the other pairs reversed within the following week in a way that left no broad pattern standing. It would also need revising if a dated, sourced event, for instance a Federal Reserve or Bank of Japan statement, emerged as a better explanation for part of the week's moves than the cross-pair pattern alone can show.
Corrections
No corrections to this piece as of 28 September 2026.