- GBP/JPY rises as markets exit “intervention” territory.
- UK jobs figures worsened, but not as much as expected.
- Japanese GDP growth will be known on Thursday.
The GBP/JPY pair rose further on Tuesday, reaching the 197.00 level, while the currency market continues to sell off Japanese yen (JPY) overall. UK jobs numbers faltered on Tuesday, but investors dodged the worst after jobless claims rose less than expected and wages grew at a healthy pace.
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is widely believed to have intervened in global markets on two separate occasions in recent weeks, after Japanese central bank activity reports revealed that the BoJ overextended itself in various financial operations in about nine billion yen. However, the yen's aggressive rally is proving short-lived. The GBP/JPY pair reached the 197.00 area again, recovering from the recent low near 191.50.
The ILO unemployment rate in the United Kingdom rose to 4.3% in the three months ending in March, matching market forecasts and rising from 4.2% in the previous period. Average earnings in the UK, including premiums, rose by 5.7% in the three months to March, compared with the same period a year earlier. The net change in employment in the UK during the quarter to March fell, with a loss of -177,000 jobs compared to -157,000 in the previous period, briefly pushing the British Pound back.
Markets have broadly recovered on Tuesday, and yen pairs will be watching Japan's first-quarter GDP growth due early on Thursday. Japan's first quarter GDP is expected to contract -0.4% compared to the meager growth of 0.1% in the previous quarter.
GBP/JPY Technical Outlook
The pair continues to trade north of the 200 hourly EMA at 194.95 as the pound accelerates its gains against the Yen. The pair recovered to the 197.00 area for the first time since the beginning of the month, but the pair is still losing 1.8% from the multi-decade high reached at 200.60 in late April.
GBP/JPY hourly chart
GBP/JPY daily chart
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
