GBPJPY, the pair everyone calls the widowmaker
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 10:30 am
Two minutes after the London open, a trader watches a flat 1-minute chart on GBPJPY. Then a 40-pip candle prints, retraces most of it, and the stop is gone. Spread wide. Nothing on the calendar.
The reputation comes from a mix. Sterling is volatile on its own and the yen is sensitive to risk mood and Bank of Japan headlines. Put them together and the result is a pair with a huge pip range and spreads wider than most majors. It also has a name for hunting stops around round numbers.
Daily ranges of well over 100 pips are common compared with most majors. That's the draw and the trap. A 10-pip stop that's fine on EURUSD is a coin flip here.
Some people trade it with tiny size just to get the movement. Others treat it as off-limits.
Does GBPJPY have a place in your scalping plan, and what lot size do you use on it compared with EURUSD?
The reputation comes from a mix. Sterling is volatile on its own and the yen is sensitive to risk mood and Bank of Japan headlines. Put them together and the result is a pair with a huge pip range and spreads wider than most majors. It also has a name for hunting stops around round numbers.
Daily ranges of well over 100 pips are common compared with most majors. That's the draw and the trap. A 10-pip stop that's fine on EURUSD is a coin flip here.
Some people trade it with tiny size just to get the movement. Others treat it as off-limits.
Does GBPJPY have a place in your scalping plan, and what lot size do you use on it compared with EURUSD?