What Is a Pound Compared to the U.S. Dollar?

The currency of the United Kingdom is the British pound, and foreign currency traders use the symbol GBP. The U.S. dollar is found on the currency trading markets under USD. The exchange rate between the currencies is important to travelers, currency traders and businesses.

History

Since 1980, the value of the British pound in relation to the dollar has fluctuated from $1.30 to $2.30. From 2004 until October 2008, the pound stayed in a range of $1.75 to $2.

Financial Crisis

The financial crisis that started in late 2008 caused a significant decrease in the pound against the dollar. The pound went from $1.75 on Oct. 10, 2008, to $1.44 at the end of 2008.

Buying Pounds

In September 2009, it cost approximately $1.62 for a pound. The average for the first nine months of 2009 was $1.54.

Buying Dollars

Someone with British pounds would pay 0.615 pounds to get one U.S. dollar. For the first nine months of 2009, the average value of the dollar was 0.65 pounds.

Conversion

To convert from exchanging in one direction to the other, divide one by the exchange rate. For example, one divided by 0.615 dollars to the pound equals $1.62 to the pound.

References

• Historic Currency Rates
• Federal Reserve

Resources

• Yahoo Finance