GBP / JPY resumes 152.00 level, new weekly highs

• GBP / JPY continued to climb higher for the fourth consecutive session on Friday.
• Risk momentum undermined the safe-haven JPY and continued to act supportive.
• Brexit woes, softer UK macro data could prevent bulls from making aggressive bets.

The pair GBP/JPY it shot to fresh weekly highs during the middle of the European session, and the bulls are now looking to extend momentum beyond 152.00.

The cross caught some new offers on the last day of the week and built on its recent strong bounce from the 148.45 region, or the lowest level since March touched on Tuesday. The risk appetite boost in the markets undermined demand for the safe-haven Japanese yen and pushed the GBP / JPY higher for the fourth consecutive session.

Investors now appeared to have sidelined concerns about the potential economic fallout from the rapidly spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus. This was evident by a generally positive tone in equity markets, which, in turn, acted as a headwind for traditional safe-haven currencies, including the Japanese yen.

The positive intraday move did not appear to be affected by concerns about the stalemate between the EU and the UK over the Northern Ireland Protocol to the Brexit deal. This, coupled with the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the UK, could prevent traders from placing aggressive bullish bets and limit any further gains for the GBP / JPY cross.

The bulls even ignored Friday’s mixed UK retail sales figures for June and disappointing July PMI figures (manufacturing and services). However, the cross is still on track to end the week on a positive note, breaking three consecutive weeks of the losing streak.

Technical levels