GBP to USD exchange rate
history since 1949.
The British pound has been the world's reserve currency, survived Black Wednesday, and weathered Brexit. GBP/USD has moved from over 4.00 in the 1950s to its current range around 1.25-1.35 USD. Access 75+ years of daily data.
Current rate: 1 GBP = 1.27 USD as of today · Full history on Starter plan
curl https://api.currency-core.com/v1/convert \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY' \
-G --data-urlencode 'from=GBP' \
--data-urlencode 'to=USD'curl https://api.currency-core.com/v1/convert \
-H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY' \
-G --data-urlencode 'from=GBP' \
--data-urlencode 'to=USD' \
--data-urlencode 'date=1992-09-16'75 years of the pound-dollar relationship.
From post-war devaluations to Black Wednesday to Brexit, GBP/USD has a history unlike any other currency pair.
1949-1967: Post-war sterling
Britain devalued the pound from $4.03 to $2.80 in 1949. A second devaluation in 1967 from $2.80 to $2.40 reflected persistent balance of payments difficulties.
1992: Black Wednesday
Speculative attacks by George Soros and others forced the UK out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. The pound fell from $2.00 to $1.75 in a single day, costing the UK Treasury an estimated $3.4 billion.
2002-2007: GBP peak
The pound strengthened through the mid-2000s, reaching above $2.10 in 2007 as London cemented its position as the world's leading financial center.
2016: Brexit shock
The Brexit referendum sent GBP/USD from $1.48 to $1.32 overnight. The pound has since traded in a lower range of $1.20-1.35.
Query any GBP/USD rate since 1949.
Point-in-time and time-series endpoints. Suitable for invoicing, backtesting, and analytics.
Point-in-time rates
Query the exact GBP/USD rate for any date since 1949. Carry-forward resolved for weekends and holidays.
Time-series data
Pull the full daily GBP/USD series over any date range. Weekly, monthly, and yearly aggregation available.
Trend analysis
Use the analyze_history endpoint to get change %, volatility, period highs, and lows for any window. Growth plan.
Common questions about GBP/USD history
What happened to GBP/USD on Black Wednesday?
On September 16, 1992 (Black Wednesday), the British pound was forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism after speculative attacks. The pound fell sharply from ~2.00 to around 1.75 USD within days, costing the UK Treasury billions.
How did Brexit affect the pound?
The Brexit referendum result on June 24, 2016 caused the pound to drop from approximately 1.48 to 1.32 USD overnight, one of the largest single-day moves in GBP/USD history. The pound has traded in a lower range since then.
How far back does GBP/USD history go?
CurrencyCore's ECB-sourced dataset covers GBP/USD from 1949 to today, over 75 years of daily rates with carry-forward resolution. Full history is available on Starter plan and above.
75 years of GBP/USD.
One API call away.
Historical rates on Starter plan and above. Free tier: last 30 days. No credit card required.