The Bottom Line

The British pound competes with the U.S. dollar (USD), euro (EUR), and Japanese yen (JPY) in daily volume trading. The most common currency pairs involving the British pound are the euro (EUR/GBP) and the U.S. dollar (GBP/USD). GBP/USD is referred to as cable by foreign exchange traders.1 The penny sterling or pence is 1/100th of a pound. Many stocks are traded in pence rather…

Individuals can trade GBP and other foreign currencies through a foreign exchange (forex) broker. A forex broker focuses on foreign exchange products.

The British pound became the official currency of the United Kingdom when England and Scotland united to form a single country in 1707, but the pound was used as a form of money in the year 760.3 Until 1855, when printing began, the Bank of England wrote all banknotes by hand. The British pound served as currency in…

In a June 2016 referendum, British voters supported a measure to leave the European Union through a process called Brexit.6 The GBP declined significantly upon the U.K.’s split from the EU, and the value fluctuated in response to trade negotiations. The pound sterling declined again in Sept. 2022 after Prime Minister Liz Truss announced economic policies on tax cuts. Although the…

GBP is the abbreviation for the British pound sterling, the official currency of the United Kingdom, the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands, and British Antarctic Territory and the U.K. crown dependencies the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The British pound sterling is symbolized by the pound sign (£) and is sometimes…

GBP refers to the pound sterling, while GBX is an abbreviation for the penny sterling (plural: pence)⁠—⁠or 1/100th of a pound. Since many stocks are traded in pence rather than pounds, stock exchanges may use GBX to indicate the distinction between pence and pounds.