Tag: GBPJPY

GBP/JPY remains weak near 195.50 after UK employment data
- GBP/JPY loses ground to around 195.65 in Tuesday’s early European session.
- UK Unemployment Rate rose to 4.6% in three months to April; Claimant Count Change came in at 33.1K in May.
- Hawkish BoJ expectations support the Japanese Yen and act as a headwind for the cross.
The GBP/JPY cross weakens to near 195.65 during the early European session on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling (GBP) remains weak against the Japanese Yen (JPY) after the UK employment data. Traders will keep an eye on the monthly UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for April, which is due on Thursday.

Data released by the UK Office for National Statistics on Tuesday showed that the country’s ILO Unemployment Rate ticked higher to 4.6% in the three months to April versus 4.5% prior. This figure came in line with the expectations of 4.6% during the reported period.

Meanwhile, the Claimant Count Change increased by 33.1K in May versus -21.2K prior (revised from 5.2K), below the consensus of 9.5K. The GBP attracts some sellers in an immediate reaction to the weaker UK employment report.

Japan’s GDP shrank at an annual rate of 0.2% in Q1, compared to the initial estimate of a 0.7% fall, Japan’s Cabinet Office showed on Monday. An upward revision of Japan’s Q1 GDP has reaffirmed the Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate hike bets and could underpin the JPY.

BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday that the central bank will raise interest rates if it has enough confidence that the underlying inflation is near or moves around 2%. The Japanese central bank is set to hold a two-day policy meeting next week.

Employment FAQs

Labor market conditions are a key element to assess the health of an economy and thus a key driver for currency valuation. High employment, or low unemployment, has positive implications for consumer spending and thus economic growth, boosting the value of the local currency. Moreover, a very tight labor market – a situation in which there is a shortage of workers to fill open positions – can also have implications on inflation levels and thus monetary policy as low labor supply and high demand leads to higher wages.

The pace at which salaries are growing in an economy is key for policymakers. High wage growth means that households have more money to spend, usually leading to price increases in consumer goods. In contrast to more volatile sources of inflation such as energy prices, wage growth is seen as a key component of underlying and persisting inflation as salary increases are unlikely to be undone. Central banks around the world pay close attention to wage growth data when deciding on monetary policy.

The weight that each central bank assigns to labor market conditions depends on its objectives. Some central banks explicitly have mandates related to the labor market beyond controlling inflation levels. The US Federal Reserve (Fed), for example, has the dual mandate of promoting maximum employment and stable prices. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) sole mandate is to keep inflation under control. Still, and despite whatever mandates they have, labor market conditions are an important factor for policymakers given its significance as a gauge of the health of the economy and their direct relationship to inflation.
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June 10, 2025

Retraces from four-month high above 196.50

GBP/JPY retraces to near 194.45 from the four-month high of 196.50 as the Japanese Yen outperforms.
BoJ’s Uchida expressed confidence in more interest rate hikes ahead.
The UK economy is expected to have grown strongly by 0.6% in the January-March period.

The GBP/JPY pair corrects to near 194.45 during European trading hours on Wednesday from its four-month high of 196.40 posted earlier in the day. The cross retraces sharply as the Japanese Yen (JPY) strengthens across the board after comments from Bank of Japan (BoJ) Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida indicated that hopes of further interest rate hikes are still alive despite global economic uncertainty in the wake of tariffs announced by United States (US) President Donald Trump.

Japanese Yen PRICE Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the Australian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.32%	-0.21%	-0.98%	-0.00%	0.04%	-0.12%	-0.41%
EUR	0.32%		0.12%	-0.66%	0.32%	0.36%	0.18%	-0.09%
GBP	0.21%	-0.12%		-0.80%	0.20%	0.24%	0.06%	-0.21%
JPY	0.98%	0.66%	0.80%		0.98%	1.02%	0.84%	0.56%
CAD	0.00%	-0.32%	-0.20%	-0.98%		0.04%	-0.12%	-0.40%
AUD	-0.04%	-0.36%	-0.24%	-1.02%	-0.04%		-0.16%	-0.45%
NZD	0.12%	-0.18%	-0.06%	-0.84%	0.12%	0.16%		-0.28%
CHF	0.41%	0.09%	0.21%	-0.56%	0.40%	0.45%	0.28%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).

Japan’s underlying inflation and medium- to long-term inflation expectations are likely to temporarily stagnate. But even during that period, wages are expected to continue rising as Japan’s job market is very tight, Uchida said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the Pound Sterling (GBP) trades calmly ahead of the flash United Kingdom (UK) Q1 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, which will be released on Thursday. The UK economy is estimated to have expanded at a robust pace of 0.6%, compared to 0.1% growth seen in the last quarter of 2024.

On the monetary policy front, the Bank of England (BoE) is expected to reduce interest rates further as the UK labor market has cooled down. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the ILO Unemployment Rate accelerated to 4.5%, as expected, from 4.4% in the three months ending February. In the same period, the economy added 112K fresh workers, significantly lower than the prior release of 206K.

GBP/JPY struggles to extend its upside above the horizontal resistance plotted from the March 27 high of 196.00. However, the outlook of the cross is still bullish as the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) slopes higher, which trades around 192.32.

The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) retraces to near 60.00 from 67.00. A fresh bullish momentum would emerge if the RSI holds above the 60.00 level.

The pair could extend its upside to near the January 7 high of 198.26 and the psychological level of 200.00 after breaking above the four-month high of 196.40.

On the flip side, a downside move by the pair below the May 6 low of 190.33 will expose it to the March 11 low of 188.80, followed by the February 7 low of 187.00.

GBP/JPY daily chart

Economic Indicator

Gross Domestic Product (QoQ)

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), released by the Office for National Statistics on a monthly and quarterly basis, is a measure of the total value of all goods and services produced in the UK during a given period. The GDP is considered as the main measure of UK economic activity. The QoQ reading compares economic activity in the reference quarter to the previous quarter. Generally, a rise in this indicator is bullish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), while a low reading is seen as bearish.