GBP/JPY price today

The pound to yen rate (GBP/JPY) shows how many Japanese yen one British pound is worth. This pair is one of the best-known "crosses" in the forex market and is famous for its sharp moves and large daily range; that is what makes it both popular and risky. On this page you can see the live GBP/JPY rate, the candlestick chart and its technical events, and further down you'll learn about the structure of this pair, the factors that drive it, pip value and risk management tips.

What is a cross pair and where does GBP/JPY fit in?

Currency pairs that don't include the US dollar are called "crosses". In GBP/JPY, the pound is the base currency and the yen is the quote currency; so a rising number means the pound has strengthened against the yen, and a falling one means the yen has strengthened. In practice, the price of this cross is built from two major pairs: it is roughly equal to pound to dollar (GBP/USD) multiplied by dollar to yen (USD/JPY). That's why any news that moves either of these also affects GBP/JPY, and sometimes these effects stack up.

Traders have nicknamed this pair the "Guppy", and some call it "The Beast" because of its wild behavior. Like most crosses, GBP/JPY trades in lower volume than the majors, and its spread is usually wider than EUR/USD or USD/JPY; in short-term trading this cost takes a noticeable share of profit and loss.

This symbol is different from the Toman rates for the pound and yen in Iran. You can see open-market prices on the pound price and Japanese yen price pages; the ratio of these two Toman rates is usually close to the global GBP/JPY figure, although the Iranian market has its own domestic factors too.

The two central banks behind GBP/JPY

Bank of England (BoE)

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) sets the pound's interest rate. UK inflation has been one of the bank's main concerns in recent years, and any sign of a shift in the committee's tone, including how members vote, can move the pound.

Bank of Japan (BoJ)

For years the Bank of Japan had one of the most unusual monetary policies in the world: it introduced negative interest rates in 2016 and didn't exit them until 2024. This wide gap between Japanese interest rates and those of other countries made the yen the main "carry trade" currency, meaning borrowing cheap yen and buying higher-yielding currencies such as the pound. Japan's Ministry of Finance has also intervened directly in the currency market several times to prevent a sharp weakening of the yen, including in 2022; such interventions happen without prior notice and create a big move within minutes.

See a comparison of the two countries' current interest rates on the central bank interest rates page; this gap is the main basis for swaps and the appeal of the carry trade in GBP/JPY.

Factors affecting the pound to yen price

• UK economic data: inflation (CPI), the labor market and wage growth, economic growth (GDP), retail sales and PMI indices.
• Japanese data: national and Tokyo inflation, the quarterly "Tankan" survey on the condition of large companies and, of course, BoJ meetings.
• Risk sentiment in global markets: the yen is considered a "safe-haven" currency. When fear rises in the markets, investors close carry trades and buy yen; the result is usually a rapid drop in GBP/JPY. During periods of optimism and stock market gains, the opposite is common.
• UK political events: the Brexit referendum in June 2016 is a clear example; on the night the result was announced, the pound fell sharply against most currencies and GBP/JPY recorded one of the biggest daily moves in its history.

Follow the release times of this data and interest rate decisions in Tehran time on the Teagle economic calendar .

Best time to trade GBP/JPY

This pair has two "homes": Tokyo and London. The Asian session is active for the yen side, but the most volume and movement usually begins with the London open and continues through the London–New York overlap.

Exact market opening and closing times shift with European daylight saving time; check them on world market hours .

Pip value in GBP/JPY

In pairs where the yen is the quote currency, a pip is the second decimal place (0.01), not the fourth. The pip value is first calculated in yen:

To convert this figure to dollars, divide it by the USD/JPY rate; so the dollar value of a pip isn't fixed and changes as the dollar to yen rate changes. The "pip value" tool on this page does this conversion automatically, and to calculate swaps and the right position size you can use the Teagle trading calculator .

Volatility and technical behavior

GBP/JPY combines two currencies that can each be volatile on their own, which is why its daily range is usually larger than EUR/USD and even GBP/USD. A few common points:

• Wider stop loss: a stop loss that makes sense on EUR/USD may be hit by a normal swing on GBP/JPY; so the trade size should be smaller to keep the dollar risk constant.
• Sudden moves on risk-off days: carry trades being closed all at once can create a move of several hundred pips in a short time.
• Moving with the stock market: in many periods GBP/JPY moves in the same direction as global stock indices, because both are sensitive to risk appetite.

The "Technical events" and "Technical analysis" sections on this page summarize indicator signals; when making decisions, look at them alongside the chart and the economic calendar.

Correlation with other symbols

Euro to Yen (EUR/JPY) is the closest relative of GBP/JPY and moves in the same direction on most days; opening buy positions on both at the same time is effectively one trade with double the risk. GBP/USD and USD/JPY, as the components of this cross, are also positively correlated with it.

Risk management tips for Iranian traders

• Lower leverage than on the major pairs: GBP/JPY's large swings combined with high leverage can wipe out an account in a few hours.
• Know the swap: Because of the interest rate gap, the buy and sell swaps on this pair usually differ a lot; check them before holding a position overnight.
• Access and choosing a broker: Due to sanctions restrictions, Iranian users usually work with foreign brokers, and spreads on crosses vary a lot between them. Before opening an account, read the forex broker reviews .

To see other currency pairs, open the full list of forex market symbols . The information on this page is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell; rates are obtained from the stated sources and may differ slightly from your broker's prices. Trading with leverage carries high risk and you may lose some or all of your capital.