What does GBP/USD measure?

GBP/USD states how many US dollars you receive for one British pound. A rate of 1.2700 means one pound buys 1.27 dollars.

Why is GBP/USD called "cable"?

The nickname dates back to the transatlantic telegraph cable used to transmit the exchange rate between London and New York in the 19th century. The name stuck and is still used by traders today.

Relative policy from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve, UK growth and inflation releases, and global risk sentiment are the main drivers. UK political and fiscal developments have also historically moved the pair.

When is GBP/USD most liquid?

Liquidity is typically highest during the London-New York trading overlap, when both major financial centers are active simultaneously.

How do I get GBP/USD via the API?

GET /v1/latest/GBP?symbols=USD returns the indicative rate, source, market_session, and timestamp. The free tier covers it, no credit card required. All rates are indicative, not for settlement.

How many decimal places does GBP/USD use?

GBP/USD is conventionally quoted to four decimal places, standard for most major currency pairs.

Is this rate suitable for settling a transaction?

No. It is an indicative mid-market reference rate for informational use, not for settlement, invoicing, or regulated trading.

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GBP/USD

Name: GBP/USD exchange rate time series
Creator: exchangerate.dev
License: https://exchangerate.dev/terms

1.34645

(Sterling / US Dollar)

+0.32% today

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GBP/USD historical chart

Aug 4Feb 3Jul 31

Live GBP/USD conversion rate

As of 2026-08-02 17:12:11 UTC, GBP/USD (Sterling / US Dollar) is 1.34645, reconciled from ECB ref · live spot and refreshed every 1-minute ingest / daily reference fallback. Every observation is point-in-time and labels its source class and timestamp — backtest-safe and reproducible. GBP/USD is available over the REST API and an MCP server on exchangerate.dev, with a free tier to start.

How do I query GBP/USD?

One authenticated GET returns the latest value with its timestamp and source. Swap the language tab for your stack.

$ curl https://api.exchangerate.dev/v1/rate/gbp-usd \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY"
# → rate, timestamp, source, derived

✓The response includes source, market_session, and data_updated_at freshness metadata.

Reference

GET/v1/latest/GBP?symbols=USD

Latest GBP/USD indicative spot rate — value, timestamp, source, and market_session.

Rate limit

12 / min (Free) · 500 / min (Pro)

Latency p95

sub-100ms edge hits

Source feed

ECB ref · live spot

Frequency

1-minute ingest / daily reference fallback

Provenance

Reconciled against aggregated market data + public reference rates · parser v2.1

Methodology and revision log are public and versioned.

Read methodology

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GBP/USD — Understanding "Cable"

GBP/USD, nicknamed "cable" after the transatlantic telegraph cable once used to relay quotes between London and New York, is one of the oldest and most actively traded currency pairs. It expresses how many US dollars one British pound buys.

The pair reflects the relative stance of the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve, along with UK growth and inflation data. Because London and New York trading hours overlap for several hours each day, cable tends to see its heaviest liquidity in that window.

Beyond monetary policy, GBP/USD is also a barometer of broader risk sentiment and UK-specific political developments; periods of UK fiscal or political uncertainty have historically shown up as outsized swings in this pair relative to other dollar crosses.

This page shows an indicative mid-market rate sourced from aggregated market data and public reference rates (ECB/FRED). It can update intraday through the trading week; every response carries source and market_session so you know whether a given quote was live or a daily fix. Rates are indicative, not for settlement or regulated trading.

Frequently asked questions

What does GBP/USD measure?: GBP/USD states how many US dollars you receive for one British pound. A rate of 1.2700 means one pound buys 1.27 dollars.
Why is GBP/USD called "cable"?: The nickname dates back to the transatlantic telegraph cable used to transmit the exchange rate between London and New York in the 19th century. The name stuck and is still used by traders today.
What drives GBP/USD?: Relative policy from the Bank of England and the Federal Reserve, UK growth and inflation releases, and global risk sentiment are the main drivers. UK political and fiscal developments have also historically moved the pair.
When is GBP/USD most liquid?: Liquidity is typically highest during the London-New York trading overlap, when both major financial centers are active simultaneously.
How do I get GBP/USD via the API?: GET /v1/latest/GBP?symbols=USD returns the indicative rate, source, market_session, and timestamp. The free tier covers it, no credit card required. All rates are indicative, not for settlement.
How many decimal places does GBP/USD use?: GBP/USD is conventionally quoted to four decimal places, standard for most major currency pairs.
Is this rate suitable for settling a transaction?: No. It is an indicative mid-market reference rate for informational use, not for settlement, invoicing, or regulated trading.