Cable (foreign exchange)
Encyclopedia
Cable is a foreign exchange
term used for the GBP/USD currency pair
rate (British pound vs the US dollar). It derives its name from the Transatlantic Cable
, a steel cable laid under the Atlantic Ocean in 1858, telegraphically linking the UK with the USA, enabling messages with currency prices to be transmitted between the London
and New York
Exchanges. The first such exchange rate to be published in The Times appeared in their issue of 10 August 1866.
Optical fibres and satellites have now taken over for both local and international communications, but the nickname has remained in the foreign exchange sector.
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
term used for the GBP/USD currency pair
Currency pair
A currency pair is the quotation of the relative value of a currency unit against the unit of another currency in the foreign exchange market. The currency that is used as the reference is called the counter currency or quote currency and the currency that is quoted in relation is called the base...
rate (British pound vs the US dollar). It derives its name from the Transatlantic Cable
Transatlantic telegraph cable
The transatlantic telegraph cable was the first cable used for telegraph communications laid across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. It crossed from , Foilhommerum Bay, Valentia Island, in western Ireland to Heart's Content in eastern Newfoundland. The transatlantic cable connected North America...
, a steel cable laid under the Atlantic Ocean in 1858, telegraphically linking the UK with the USA, enabling messages with currency prices to be transmitted between the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Exchanges. The first such exchange rate to be published in The Times appeared in their issue of 10 August 1866.
Optical fibres and satellites have now taken over for both local and international communications, but the nickname has remained in the foreign exchange sector.