GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Struggles around 169.00, plunged 90 pips to 168.20s

GBP/JPY tumbled after testing 169.00, the head-and-shoulders right shoulder, so the pattern is still in play.
Short term, the GBP/JPY might consolidate around 168.00-169.00.
GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Break below 168.00 could pave the way toward 167.00.

Christian Borjon Valencia FXStreet

The British Pound (GBP) climbed and tested the head-and-shoulders right shoulder but retreated after sellers stepped in just below the 169.00 figure, exacerbating a fall toward the 168.10 area. Hence, the GBP/JPY is trading at 168.16, registering minuscule losses of 0.04% as the Asian session begins.

GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Technical outlook

The GBP/JPY daily chart remains neutral-to-upward biased. Failure to break above the right shoulder kept the pattern intact; hence, further downside is expected. However, the GBP/JPY must clear the November 23 daily low of 167.69, which would exacerbate a fall towards the head-and-shoulders neckline around 165.30/50. Even though the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is in bullish territory, its slope is flat, closer to the 50-midline. So, if the cross drops below 168.00, the RSI could give a sell signal, exacerbating a fall toward the neckline and beyond.

Short term, the GBP/JPY 4-hour chart depicts the cross advancing steadily on smaller chunks, registering a fresh daily high for the last eight days. On Wednesday, after hitting a daily high of 168.99, the cross plunged 90 pips as sellers stepped in on the top-trendline of an ascending channel. That said, the GBP/JPY is trading below Thursday’s daily pivot point, so the path of least resistance is downwards.

The GBP/JPY first support would be the confluence of the S1 pivot and the upslope trendline around 167.63. Once cleared, the next demand area will be the confluence of the 200-Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and the S2 daily pivot at 167.01.

GBP/JPY Key Technical Levels

GBP/JPY

Overview
Today last price	168.24
Today Daily Change	0.34
Today Daily Change %	0.20
Today daily open	167.9

Trends
Daily SMA20	167.46
Daily SMA50	164.99
Daily SMA100	164.1
Daily SMA200	162.45

Levels
Previous Daily High	168.31
Previous Daily Low	167.35
Previous Weekly High	167.32
Previous Weekly Low	163.7
Previous Monthly High	172.14
Previous Monthly Low	159.73
Daily Fibonacci 38.2%	167.72
Daily Fibonacci 61.8%	167.95
Daily Pivot Point S1	167.4
Daily Pivot Point S2	166.89
Daily Pivot Point S3	166.44
Daily Pivot Point R1	168.36
Daily Pivot Point R2	168.82
Daily Pivot Point R3	169.32

Author

Christian Borjon Valencia

FXStreet

Markets analyst, news editor, and trading instructor with over 14 years of experience across FX, commodities, US equity indices, and global macro markets.

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