GBP/JPY consolidates near 196.00 after snapping a six-day winning streak

GBP/JPY snaps its six-day winning streak, trading around 195.90 during the European session on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling (GBP) is encountering challenges following the release of mixed UK employment data, which is undermining the GBP/JPY cross.

The ILO Unemployment Rate (3M) climbed to 4.3% in March from 4.2% in the previous reading, aligning with the market consensus of 4.3%. The number of unemployed individuals rose by 46,000 to a total of 1.49 million, driven by those unemployed for up to 6 months. 

Additionally, the number of people claiming jobless benefits increased by 8.9K in April from a decline of 2.4K in March. The UK Employment Change came in at -177K in the three months to March, compared to a previous reading of -156K.

Huw Pill, Chief Economist at the Bank of England (BoE), commented, "We can cut interest rates while maintaining a restrictive policy stance. It's not unreasonable to believe that over the summer, we will have enough confidence to consider rate cuts," as reported by forexlive.com.

On the JPY front, former Bank of Japan’s (BoJ) executive Kazuo Momma suggested that the central bank is expected to delay its next rate hike until September. Momma indicates that policymakers are likely to prefer waiting until at least September to gather more information from the government's monthly wage data for July and August.

Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has stated that the government is collaborating with the Bank of Japan to ensure alignment in policy objectives regarding foreign exchange. He further noted that they are implementing all feasible measures to closely monitor movements in the Japanese Yen.