GBP/JPY climbs to over one-week tops, further beyond 152.00 mark

GBP/JPY edged higher for the fifth consecutive session on Monday.
A broad-based USD weakness extended some support to the sterling.
COVID-19 jitters benefitted the safe-haven JPY and might cap gains.

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

The GBP/JPY cross reversed an early European session dip to the 151.40 region and shot to over one-week tops, around the 152.15-20 region in the last hour.

The cross attracted some dip-buying on the first day of a new trading week and turned positive for the fifth consecutive session amid a modest pickup in demand for the British pound. Despite the EU-UK impasse over the Northern Ireland Protocol, a weaker US dollar extended some support to the sterling. It is worth recalling that the EU rejected the UK's demand to rewrite a deal overseeing problematic post-Brexit trade involving Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 situation in Britain has been worsening over the last few weeks amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus. This might hold traders from placing any aggressive bullish bets around the GBP/JPY cross. Apart from this, the risk-off impulse in the markets benefitted the safe-haven Japanese yen and might further collaborate towards capping the upside for the GBP/JPY cross, at least for the time being.

There isn't any major market-moving economic data due for release from the UK. This further makes it prudent to wait for some strong follow-through buying before confirming that the GBP/JPY cross has bottomed out near the 148.45 region, or four-month lows touched last week. The next relevant hurdle is pegged near the 152.60-65 region, above which the cross seems all set to aim back to reclaim the 153.00 round-figure mark.

Technical levels to watch

GBP/JPY

Overview
Today last price	152.21
Today Daily Change	0.27
Today Daily Change %	0.18
Today daily open	151.94

Trends
Daily SMA20	152.34
Daily SMA50	153.7
Daily SMA100	152.54
Daily SMA200	146.83

Levels
Previous Daily High	152.16
Previous Daily Low	151.47
Previous Weekly High	152.16
Previous Weekly Low	148.46
Previous Monthly High	155.94
Previous Monthly Low	151.32
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	151.9
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	151.73
Daily Pivot Point S1	151.55
Daily Pivot Point S2	151.16
Daily Pivot Point S3	150.86
Daily Pivot Point R1	152.25
Daily Pivot Point R2	152.55
Daily Pivot Point R3	152.94

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

Markets move fast. We move first.

Orange Juice Newsletter brings you expert driven insights - not headlines. Every day on your inbox.

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD drops to daily lows near 1.1630

EUR/USD now loses some traction and slips back to the area of daily lows around 1.1630 on the back of a mild bounce in the US Dollar. Fresh US data, including the September PCE inflation numbers and the latest read on December consumer sentiment, didn’t really move the needle, so the pair is still on course to finish the week with a respectable gain.

GBP/USD trims gains, recedes toward 1.3320

GBP/USD is struggling to keep its daily advance, coming under fresh pressure and retreating to the 1.3320 zone following a mild bullish attempt in the Greenback. Even though US consumer sentiment surprised to the upside, the US Dollar isn’t getting much love, as traders are far more interested in what the Fed will say next week.

Gold makes a U-turn, back to $4,200

Gold is now losing the grip and receding to the key $4,200 region per troy ounce following some signs of life in the Greenback and a marked bounce in US Treasury yields across the board. The positive outlook for the precious metal, however, remains underpinned by steady bets for extra easing by the Fed.