Forex Currency Nicknames: Cable, Loonie, Kiwi and More

What are the most common forex nicknames?

Traders and news writers use nicknames for currencies and pairs. They are handy shortcuts, but they leave out details. So start with the three-letter currency code, check both sides of the pair, and only then read the nickname.

Glossaries from several large brokers show these names in use. They are informal slang, not an official standard.

You may also see rarer names online, such as "Barney" for USD/RUB or "Noki" for the Norwegian krone. We could not find them in dealer glossaries, so ask for the codes if someone uses them. You can follow markets perfectly well with codes like USD, GBP and EUR.

Why does the pair's direction matter more than the nickname?

Take two made-up moves. GBP/USD rises from 1.2500 to 1.2600. One pound now buys more dollars, so sterling got stronger. USD/CAD falls from 1.3600 to 1.3500. One US dollar now buys fewer Canadian dollars, so the loonie got stronger.

Both the pound and the loonie got stronger, yet one chart went up and the other went down. The reason is their place in the pair. The pound is the first currency in GBP/USD. The loonie is the second currency in USD/CAD.

Check it with money. Leaving out costs, $100 buys CAD 136 at 1.3600, but only CAD 135 at 1.3500. Real exchange counters use their own prices, so the rate you get may differ.

Is sterling the same as cable?

Not quite. Sterling is the currency itself: the British pound. Cable is one pair: the pound against the US dollar, GBP/USD.

So "sterling fell" needs a second currency before it means anything. "Sterling fell against the euro" is about EUR/GBP, where the pound is second. That headline means EUR/GBP went up. "Cable fell" means GBP/USD went down: the pound got weaker against the US dollar.

The same check works for every nickname. A currency on its own cannot rise or fall. It can only rise or fall against another currency.

Where do currency nicknames come from?

Some stories are well documented:

• Cable: In the 1800s, the pound-dollar rate was sent across the Atlantic through an undersea cable. Broker glossaries explain this too. The name outlived the cable.
• Loonie: Canada's one-dollar coin, introduced in 1987, shows a loon, a water bird. The Royal Canadian Mint tells the story. The name spread from the coin to the currency.
• Greenback: Paper money printed to pay for the US Civil War in the 1860s got the name because of its colour. The US Currency Education Program tells the story.
• Quid: The Royal Mint lists it as a pound nickname that is still in use. But there is no single agreed origin.

Other stories are less certain. One broker glossary notes that the origin of "fiber" for EUR/USD is debated. Treat tales like that as folklore, not history. Kiwi and Aussie are simpler: they are everyday nicknames for New Zealanders and Australians.

How do you translate a forex headline?

Try this one: "Kiwi rises against the greenback." The kiwi is the New Zealand dollar, and the greenback is the US dollar. So NZD/USD moves up, because NZD is the first currency.

The headline still leaves a lot out. It gives no size, time frame, cost or reason. And it says nothing about the kiwi against the Australian dollar.

Now try "the Swissy weakens". If the writer means the Swiss franc, USD/CHF goes up, because CHF is the second currency. If they mean the pair USD/CHF, it goes down. That is exactly why you should ask.

Translate the nickname before guessing the move: write the currency codes, the pair direction and what the headline leaves out.

New to pairs? Read how to read currency pairs, then what a pip is worth. Or see how three currency pairs compare.