Forex Trading Currency Nicknames
By: Stephanie
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When reading or talking about foreign currency, have you ever heard terms like the "Loonie"? Or the "Swissy"?
Hi Everybody! When I first started learning about Forex, I had the same questions. Like, "What in the world is a Fiber?"
It is a good idea to know forex trading terms so that when you are reading forex news, you understand what is being talked about. Among these forex trading terms are currency nicknames. Here are some of the common names for currencies on the Forex market:
USD is the symbol for the US Dollar. Two of the most used nicknames are the "Buck" and the "Greenback". The "Buck" may have originated with the US Colonial fur trade, when buck skins were used like currency, and the "Greenback" nickname is taken from the original note that was printed in black and green on the back side.
EUR is the symbol for the Euro Dollar. The nickname for the Euro is "Fiber", but we really aren't sure why. It seems nobody has a good answer for that one.
JPY is the Japanese Yen. As far as we know, there is no nickname for that currency. It is always called the "Yen".
GBP is the Great Britain Pound. Technically, the formal name is Pounds Sterling. There is some uncertainty as to the origin. Some sources say it dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when coins called sterlings were minted from silver; 240 of these sterlings weighed a pound, and large payments came to be made in "pounds of sterlings". Other references, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, say a sterling was a silver penny used in England by the Normans, and date the term to around 1300.
CHF if the Swiss Franc of Switzerland. Somehow, some people started calling it the "Swissy".
CAD is the symbol for the Canadian Dollar. Often called the "Loonie" because the Canadian national bird, the Looney, is on the coin.
AUD is for the Austrailian Dollar. It's nickname is Aussie (now there's a surprise...lol).
Finally, NZD is the symbol for the New Zealand Dollar. And the nickname is Kiwi. If you think it has to do with the fruit, you'd be wrong! It derives its name from New Zealand's national icon - a flightless bird called a kiwi - which is pictured on one side of the country's $1 coin.
Cable is another nickname. The Cable is a term used ONLY for the GBP/USD currency pair. The term Cable comes from the trans-Atlantic communications cable that runs between Great Britian and the United States.
Hope you enjoyed learning about currency nicknames! Keep learning and mastering Forex right here. See you soon!
Major Currency and their Nick Names:
| Symbol | Country | Currency | Nickname |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD | United States | Dollar | Buck/Greenback |
| EUR | Euro members | Euro | Fiber |
| JPY | Japan | Yen | Yen |
| GBP | Great Britain | Pound | Sterling |
| CHF | Switzerland | Franc | Swissy |
| CAD | Canada | Dollar | Loonie |
| AUD | Australia | Dollar | Aussie |
| NZD | New Zealand | Dollar | Kiwi |
* Cable: Nickname for the US dollar/UK pound currency pair only
