ICT Decoded · Currency Futures and the Dollar Index (6E, 6B, DXY)
Can Currency Futures and the Dollar Index Choose Your Forex Pair?
By Steve H — reads every firm’s official rulebook, checks prices and codes daily, and maintains the Enigma Score · Methodology · Editorial policy · Last updated November 1, 2026
ICT concepts were created and are taught by Michael J. Huddleston, The Inner Circle Trader (X · YouTube). This lesson is FundedEnigma’s own summary, not affiliated with or endorsed by ICT.
In short: They show you, as it happens, which currency is carrying the dollar's move: 6E (euro) and 6B (pound) track EUR/USD and GBP/USD, and the dollar index is about 58% euro. But on 2010-2026 daily data, picking tomorrow's pair from yesterday's daily candle was about a coin flip.
Can Currency Futures Pick Your Forex Pair? 6E, 6B and DXY Tested (ICT) · 5:32 · published November 1, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
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Key facts: 6E, 6B and the dollar index at a glance
| Part | What it means here |
|---|---|
| 6E | The euro future: the euro priced in US dollars, so it tracks EUR/USD |
| 6B | The British pound future: tracks GBP/USD |
| Dollar index (DXY) | A basket of six currencies, about 58% euro and about 12% pound (ICE weights) |
| A pair is a fraction | Same way against the dollar: the pair moves by the difference; opposite ways: by the sum |
| Same day (2010-2026) | Dollar index up: euro future down about 9 days in 10, pound future about 3 in 4 |
| Picking tomorrow's pair | From yesterday's daily candle: about 49-51 in 100, a coin flip |
Last verified 2026-11-01. Data: Free Yahoo Finance daily data: continuous front-month euro and pound futures and the ICE dollar index, January 2010 to October 2026; the days around each quarterly contract roll are left out; no volume used; hourly history covers only about two years.
On October 1, 2026, the dollar index closed up almost two thirds of a percent. The euro future closed down almost nine tenths of a percent; the pound future, a little over half a percent. Same dollar, same day, but the euro carried far more of the move: pound dollar made the smaller move that day.
What are 6E, 6B and the dollar index?
6E is the euro future and 6B the British pound future. Each is the price of the currency in US dollars, so they track EUR/USD and GBP/USD. The dollar index is a basket of six currencies: about 58% of it is the euro and only about 12% the pound, so it moves almost as a mirror image of the euro.
ICT (Michael J. Huddleston) teaches reading the dollar index alongside the major pairs, and comparing correlated markets, as in our SMT divergence lesson.
Why is a forex pair a fraction?
EUR/GBP is the euro's price divided by the pound's. When both move the same way against the dollar, the pair between them moves by the difference; when they split, by the sum. A way some ICT students frame it: to get the biggest move, put a strong currency against a weak one.
- October 23, 2026: the euro future and the pound future both fell a little over two tenths of a percent. Euro-pound barely moved.
- September 30, 2026: the euro future slipped and the pound future rose. Euro-pound fell about a third of a percent, more than either one.
- On 2010-2026 data, the two futures closed the same way about three days in four. On those days euro-pound typically moved about 0.2%; on the days they split, about 0.44%.
What do the futures show you as it happens?
Which currency is carrying the dollar's move, and which pair is moving most. On days the dollar index closed up, the euro future closed down about nine times in ten, and the pound future about three times in four. That is the same day, not a forecast.
Can you pick tomorrow's pair from today's daily candle?
Not on our data: it was about a coin flip. The idea goes one step further: read the dollar's direction for tomorrow, then focus on the currency that looked weakest when the dollar should rise, or strongest when it should fall. We tested it with the evening before's information only. The dollar read comes from yesterday's daily candle on the dollar index, as in our daily bias lesson; the pick is whichever future was weaker, or stronger, yesterday.
- For October 1: the dollar index's September 30 candle ran the previous day's low and closed back above it, a bullish read. The euro future had been the weaker one, so the pick was the euro. It fell, and it fell more than the pound.
- For October 2: the read was bullish again and the pick was the euro again. This time the dollar fell and the euro future rose.
Over 2,740 days with a read (2010-2026):
- The dollar closed the way yesterday's candle said about 49 times in 100.
- The picked future moved the expected way about 49 in 100, and beat the other future about 50.
- Reading each future's own daily candle: about 49 to 51. A 20-day trend version: about 48 to 50.
Every one of those is a coin flip, in both halves of the sample. This is a test of daily closes. It cannot test a read made inside the day, so it does not say an intraday read fails.
How do you use it in your own charting?
As a live check, not a forecast. Keep the dollar index next to your pair and watch which future carries the dollar's move: that is your real-time read of relative strength. More concepts in the series are on the ICT Concepts Decoded hub. If you trade with a prop firm, you can look up a firm's rules on the challenges page or set two firms side by side on the compare page. Affiliate disclosure: FundedEnigma earns a commission from some of the firms on this site when you sign up through our links or codes, at no extra cost to you.
Frequently asked questions
What is 6E futures?
6E is the CME euro future: the euro priced in US dollars, so it tracks EUR/USD.
How much of the dollar index is the euro?
About 58% (ICE weights); the pound is about 12%, so the index moves almost as a mirror image of the euro.
How do I use the dollar index with EUR/USD?
As a same-day check: on 2010-2026 daily data, when the dollar index closed up, the euro future closed down about nine days in ten.
Which is moving more, EUR/USD or GBP/USD?
The futures show which currency carries the dollar's move as it happens. Picking tomorrow's pair from yesterday's daily candle was about a coin flip on our data, so it is not a forecast.
Do currency futures lead forex?
This lesson does not test that. It uses daily closes, which show the same-day link between the futures, the pairs and the dollar index.
Sources
- Data: Free Yahoo Finance daily data: continuous front-month euro and pound futures and the ICE dollar index, January 2010 to October 2026; the days around each quarterly contract roll are left out; no volume used; hourly history covers only about two years.
- Dollar index weights: ICE (Intercontinental Exchange).
- Concepts: reading the dollar index alongside the major pairs and comparing correlated markets (SMT), as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston). The "strong against weak" pairing is a framing some ICT students use. The statistics, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Video: Can Currency Futures Pick Your Forex Pair? 6E, 6B and DXY Tested (ICT), FundedEnigma.
Last verified: 2026-11-01. Written by Steve H.
Disclaimer: This page is for education only and is not financial advice. It does not describe any firm's rules. Trading futures and forex involves substantial risk of loss. Past price behaviour does not guarantee future results.
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