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The handle is the whole-number part of a price, the part traders leave out when they talk. In EUR/USD at 1.0850 the handle is 1.08, and in an S&P 500 future at 5,000.25 the handle is 5,000.
Traders quote prices fast, so they drop the part everyone knows. If EUR/USD is trading between 1.0800 and 1.0899 all morning, a dealer says 50 for 1.0850. The 1.08 is the handle, also called the big figure. When the price moves from 1.0899 to 1.0900 it has changed handles, and that is often where stops and orders cluster.
In index futures the handle means one full point. If the E-mini S&P 500 moves from 5,000 to 5,001, it has moved one handle, which is $50 on the standard contract and $5 on the micro. A trader who says the market fell ten handles means ten points.
GBP/USD is at 1.2740. A trader says she bought at 45 and sold at 62. She means 1.2745 and 1.2762, a gain of 17 pips. If the pair had crossed to 1.2800, she would have said it took out the 28 handle.
Round handles act as reference points. Many traders place stops or targets just above or below them, and prices often pause or jump there. Knowing the word helps you read trading chat, and knowing the levels helps you place orders with the crowd in mind rather than in its way.
See spread, futures contract and futures symbols.
The big figure moved. EUR/USD going from 1.0899 to 1.0900 changed from the 1.08 handle to the 1.09 handle.
They are different sizes. A pip is the fourth decimal place on most pairs. A handle is the first two, so one handle is 100 pips.
Sources: CME Group and bank FX trading glossaries. Checked 25 September 2026.
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