GBP/JPY hesistates, but looking bearish on China tariff threats

GBP loses steam as trade wars surge back into markets, stoking fears.
The Yen continues to gain on broad market fears, and a lack of data for Friday leaves markets exposed to sentiment swings.

Joshua Gibson FXStreet

The Sterling is on shaky ground against the Yen, trading around 148.00 in the early Asia session.

It's been a hectic week for the GBP/JPY, with UK macro figures, the US Fed's rate hike, and ongoing trade war fears dominating market perspectives. Ultimately it's the trade wars that are driving the markets heading into Friday's data-light session, and the matter is escalating with China preparing to unleash retaliatory tariffs against the US following Trump's $50B shot aimed at Beijing.

China responds

China is demonstrating it's not afraid to back up its rhetoric with action, and is giving the US one last chance to reach agreeable terms with them before unleashing a round of retaliatory tariffs. The ever-growing threat of a trade war between two of the world's largest economies is taking the top off of risk appetite in the markets, and the Yen is geared to make further gains after knocking the Sterling off of a descent upward push in Thursday's trading.

Adding to the Yen-positive thread in the markets today was mildly-positive inflation figures for Japan, with the National Consumer Price Index coming in at 1.5% earlier, lower than the anticipated 1.7% but still an improvement over the previous 1.4%.

GBP/JPY Levels to watch

The pair staggered lower after several days of gains, and support is currently priced in nearby at Thursday's low of 147.65, while resistance is sitting at Wednesday`s swing low of 148.95 and Thursday`s high of 150.18.

Author

Joshua Gibson

FXStreet

Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.

EUR/USD looks apathetic around 1.1770

EUR/USD comes under renewed pressure on Tuesday, deflating below the 1.1800 support and reversing two consecutive days of gains. The pair’s decline follows the persistent move higher in the US Dollar, as trade uncertainty dominates the sentiment ahead of President Trump’s SOTU speech.

GBP/USD regains 1.3500 and above

GBP/USD extends its advance for the third day in a row on Tuesday, this time retesting the area beyond the 1.3500 hurdle. Cable’s uptick comes despite decent gains in the Greenback and the dovish message from the BoE’s Bailey at the UK Parliament.

Gold appears offered around $5,150

Gold is giving back a good portion of the recent multi-day rally, receding to the $5,150 zone per troy ounce amid the decent bounce in the US Dollar and mixed US Treasuty yields. In the meantime, markets’ attention remain on upcoming comments from Fed speakers.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP come under renewed pressure amid ETF outflows, tariff uncertainty

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are trading under increasing selling pressure at the time of writing on Tuesday, as market participants navigate renewed tariff uncertainty. The Crypto King holds above $63,000, down 2% intraday from its $64,656 open.

The Citrini report: How a debatable AI narrative can shake Wall Street

That AI-related headline alone was enough to rattle investors.US stocks slid sharply on Monday after a widely circulated Citrini Research memo outlined a hypothetical “2028 Global Intelligence Crisis”, warning that rapid AI adoption could push US unemployment into double digits as early as by mid-2028.

XRP pressured by weak ETF flows and declining retail interest

Ripple (XRP) is edging lower, trading above its intraday low of $1.32 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The decline from its weekly opening of $1.39 reflects heightened volatility in the broader cryptocurrency market, accentuated by tariff-triggered uncertainty.