GBP/JPY holds onto recovery moves around 152.00 ahead of UK data dump

GBP/JPY bulls attach 152.00, up 0.08% intraday during Friday’s Asian session after rising the most in a week the previous day. While US Treasury yields rebound and cautious optimism in fighting with the coronavirus seems to have favored the latest recovery, the British pound (GBP) cheered mixed updates at home to consolidate weekly losses on Thursday.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Pfizer and AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to be used as booster shots, per Reuters. However, the highest virus-led hospitalizations since March and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader’s warning to suspend co-operation with Dublin, on Northern Ireland (NI) protocol issues, challenge the bulls.

Additionally, the UK’s delay of border checks trigged a mild wave of positivity but fresh tension in the English channel over the fishing rights, due to the Brexit, tamed the bulls. “The UK will delay checks on some EU imports while it seeks a solution on the trade of foodstuffs with Northern Ireland, according to officials and a new piece of legislation,” said the Independent.

On the other hand, easing virus numbers from Japan failed to tame the pandemic and hence the government decided to extend the emergency over multiple prefectures, including Tokyo. “The Japanese government decided Thursday to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency again for Tokyo and many other areas as hospitals remain stretched despite a falling number of infections while seeking a road map for easing restrictions when most of the population is vaccinated,” said Kyodo News.

It should be noted that US President Joe Biden’s latest six-pronged strategy seems to battle the covid woes of late.

Amid these plays, US Treasury yields rebound after the heavy fall whereas the S&P 500 Futures remain directionless.

Moving on, the UK’s monthly GDP, Industrial Production, Manufacturing Production and Good Trade Balance for July will entertain the GBP/JPY traders going forward. Given the BOE’s split over the next moves, risk catalysts are likely to be more important for price forecasts.

Technical analysis

Despite the pair’s corrective pullback, a downward sloping trend line from late May, around 152.10, becomes the key hurdle for the GBP/JPY bulls to conquer.