GBP/JPY holds losses near 208.50 ahead of UK Retail Sales, PMI data

GBP/JPY falls as BoE March rate cut expectations weigh on Pound Sterling.
BoE’s Catherine Mann praised January CPI, though core inflation stayed slightly elevated.
Japan’s CPI rose 1.5% YoY; core CPI increased 2.0%, both slowing from prior readings.

Akhtar Faruqui FXStreet

GBP/JPY loses ground for the second successive session, trading around 208.60 during the Asian hours on Friday. The currency cross remains under pressure as the Pound Sterling (GBP) weakens ahead of the United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales and S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) releases due later in the day.

The British Pound is weighed down by rising expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will cut interest rates at its March meeting. These bets strengthened after a soft UK labor report showed the Unemployment Rate climbing to 5.2% in the three months to December, alongside easing wage growth.

UK inflation also cooled to its lowest level in nearly a year, reinforcing dovish BoE expectations. BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Catherine Mann welcomed January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, noting that headline inflation was encouraging, though core inflation remained slightly above desired levels.

The downside of the GBP/JPY cross could be restrained as the Japanese Yen (JPY) softens after January’s decline in both headline and core inflation, following government efforts to curb living costs.

Japan’s National Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.5% year-over-year (YoY) in January, easing from 2.1% previously. Core CPI, which excludes fresh food, rose 2.0% YoY, down from 2.4% and matching market expectations. Meanwhile, CPI excluding fresh food and energy climbed 2.6% YoY, compared with 2.9% in the prior month.

Pound Sterling Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of British Pound (GBP) against listed major currencies today. British Pound was the weakest against the Canadian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.14%	0.14%	0.08%	-0.01%	0.31%	0.42%	0.07%
EUR	-0.14%		0.00%	-0.05%	-0.16%	0.18%	0.28%	-0.07%
GBP	-0.14%	-0.00%		-0.04%	-0.16%	0.17%	0.27%	-0.07%
JPY	-0.08%	0.05%	0.04%		-0.10%	0.22%	0.32%	-0.02%
CAD	0.01%	0.16%	0.16%	0.10%		0.32%	0.42%	0.08%
AUD	-0.31%	-0.18%	-0.17%	-0.22%	-0.32%		0.10%	-0.25%
NZD	-0.42%	-0.28%	-0.27%	-0.32%	-0.42%	-0.10%		-0.35%
CHF	-0.07%	0.07%	0.07%	0.02%	-0.08%	0.25%	0.35%

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 British Pound from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent GBP (base)/USD (quote).

Author

Akhtar Faruqui

FXStreet

Akhtar Faruqui is a Forex Analyst based in New Delhi, India. With a keen eye for market trends and a passion for dissecting complex financial dynamics, he is dedicated to delivering accurate and insightful Forex news and analysis.

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