GBP/JPY continues slow grind higher despite off-kilter UK labor figures, tests 197.00

• GBP/JPY marches higher as markets eat away at “Yentervention” territory.
• UK labor figures worsened, but not as badly as expected.
• Japanese GDP growth due on Thursday.

GBP/JPY rose further on Tuesday, clipping into the 197.00 handle as the broader FX market continues to sell the Japanese Yen (JPY) across the board. UK labor figures wobbled on Tuesday, but investors skirted the worst of it after unemployment benefits claims rose less than expected and wages grew at a healthy pace.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is broadly believed to have stepped into global markets on two separate occasions in recent weeks after the Japanese central bank’s activities reports revealed the BoJ overspent on miscellaneous financial operations by around nine billion Yen. However, the Yen’s aggressive recovery is proving to be short-lived. The GBP/JPY ground its way back to the 197.00 handle, recovering from the recent low near 191.50.

The UK’s ILO Unemployment Rate ticked higher to 4.3% over the three months ended March, matching market forecasts and rising from the previous period’s 4.2%. Average UK Earnings Including Bonuses rose 5.7% for the three-month period ending in March compared to the same time last year. Net employment change in the UK for the quarter ended in March fell, shedding -177K jobs compared to the previous period’s -157K, knocking the GBP briefly back.

Markets have broadly recovered on Tuesday, and Yen pairs will be looking ahead to early Thursday’s Japanese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the first quarter. Japanese Q1 GDP is expected to contract -0.4% versus the previous quarter’s slim growth of 0.1%.

GBP/JPY technical outlook

The Guppy continues to trade north of the 200-hour Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 194.95 as the Sterling accelerates gains against the Yen. The pair recovered back into the 1.97.00 handle for the first time since the start of the month, but the pair remains down 1.8% from the multi-decade peak reached at 200.60 in late April.

GBP/JPY hourly chart

GBP/JPY daily chart