GBP/JPY bounces off daily low; keeps the red below 211.00 on Middle East tensions
- GBP/JPY attracts fresh sellers as fading Iran de-escalation hopes benefit the JPY’s safe-haven status.
- Economic concerns stemming from rallying Oil prices undermine the GBP and weigh on spot prices.
- The BoJ rate hike uncertainty might cap further JPY appreciation and help limit losses for the cross.
The GBP/JPY cross meets with a fresh supply on Thursday and reverses a part of the previous day's goodish recovery from the 209.70-209.65 area, or the vicinity of a nearly four-week low. Spot prices, however, recover a few pips from the daily low and trade below the 211.00 mark during the early European session, still down over 0.20% for the day.
The British Pound's (GBP) underperformance against its Japanese counterpart could be attributed to growing concerns about the fallout from energy price shocks linked to the Iran war. Adding to this, the Bank of England's (BoE) signal about a potential rate hike as early as April raises downside risks to the economy. Furthermore, a fresh wave of the global risk-aversion trade benefits the Japanese Yen's (JPY) safe-haven status and exerts downward pressure on the GBP/JPY cross.
Hopes for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East faded following US President Donald Trump's comments earlier today. Addressing the nation, US President Donald Trump threatened that Iran would be hit extremely hard over the next two to three weeks if no deal is reached. Furthermore, reports claiming that the UAE wants to join the war to open the Strait of Hormuz raise the risk of a broader regional conflict and temper investors' appetite for perceived riskier assets.
Meanwhile, the latest development triggers a sharp intraday rally in Crude Oil prices, fueling inflation fears. Investors also seem concerned that the war-driven surge in energy prices could weaken Japan's economic growth and rekindle inflation, creating a classic stagflationary environment and complicating the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) normalization efforts. This might cap the JPY and support the GBP/JPY cross. However, JPY intervention fears might continue to cap the upside.
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 | 0.48% | 0.66% | 0.41% | 0.27% | 0.74% | 0.71% | 0.58% | |
| EUR | -0.48% | 0.18% | -0.09% | -0.24% | 0.27% | 0.24% | 0.09% | |
| GBP | -0.66% | -0.18% | -0.25% | -0.39% | 0.09% | 0.08% | -0.09% | |
| JPY | -0.41% | 0.09% | 0.25% | -0.15% | 0.32% | 0.28% | 0.15% | |
| CAD | -0.27% | 0.24% | 0.39% | 0.15% | 0.47% | 0.43% | 0.30% | |
| AUD | -0.74% | -0.27% | -0.09% | -0.32% | -0.47% | -0.03% | -0.20% | |
| NZD | -0.71% | -0.24% | -0.08% | -0.28% | -0.43% | 0.03% | -0.15% | |
| CHF | -0.58% | -0.09% | 0.09% | -0.15% | -0.30% | 0.20% | 0.15% |
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).
Author
Haresh Menghani
FXStreet
Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.
