Cable
Definition · Level 6 · Desk language
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Nickname for GBP/USD, after the transatlantic telegraph line that once carried the rate.
Example
“Cable’s lost a big figure since London opened.”
Where Tradecraft teaches it
Level 6 · Desk language, in the lesson “Size and currency slang”: Bucks, yards, lots and the FX nicknames — plus what one pip is worth.
Related terms
- A buckFX, rates and bond-desk slang for one million (dollars or units of the currency traded).
- A yardOne billion, from the French “milliard” — used mainly in FX and rates so nobody confuses billion and million on a noisy line.
- AussieNickname for the Australian dollar and the AUD/USD pair.
- FiberNickname for EUR/USD, the most traded currency pair in BIS surveys — heard mostly in retail and online commentary; bank desks usually just say “euro”.
- KiwiNickname for the New Zealand dollar and the NZD/USD pair.
- LoonieNickname for the Canadian dollar, after the bird on Canada’s one-dollar coin; used loosely for USD/CAD, which desks also call “dollar-CAD” or “funds”.