GBP/JPY steady around mid-145.00s after mixed UK jobs data

The GBP/JPY cross remained under some selling pressure on Wednesday and extended BoE-led corrective slide from near 5-month high touched last Wednesday. 

Despite of yesterday's upbeat UK inflation figures, the cross failed to conquer the 147.00 handle and subsequently dropped to the key 145.00 psychological mark on Wednesday amid political jitters from the US, which boosted the Japanese Yen's safe-haven appeal.

The cross, however, has managed to bounce off lows and extended its recovery move further towards mid-145.00s following the release of UK monthly employment details. 

Spot caught some fresh bids after the latest UK jobs report showed unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to 4.6% from 4.7% previous. The positive reading, however, got negated by higher-than-expected number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits, coming-in at 19.4K during April as compared to 7.5K expected. Meanwhile, average weekly earnings growth (including bonus) rose 2.4% during the 3-month period to March but again was nullified by a down-tick in earnings growth excluding bonus (2.1% vs 2.2% previous).

Barring the initial minor spike, the cross seems to have largely ignored the data and failed to lift the considering its little implication over BoE’s near-term monetary policy stance.

With the UK macro data out of the way, broader market risk sentiment, which derives demand for traditional safe-haven assets, would continue to be an exclusive driver of the pair’s movement on Wednesday.

Technical levels to watch

Bears would be eyeing for a decisive break through the 145.00 handle, below which the cross is likely to extend the corrective slide towards 144.70-65 intermediate support en-route 144.35 strong horizontal support. On the flip side, momentum above 145.75-80 immediate resistance is likely to lift the cross back above the 146.00 handle towards testing its next major hurdle near 146.50-55 area.

Technical levels to watch

Bears would be eyeing for a decisive break through the 145.00 handle, below which the cross is likely to extend the corrective slide towards 144.70-65 intermediate support en-route 144.35 strong horizontal support. On the flip side, momentum above 145.75-80 immediate resistance is likely to lift the cross back above the 146.00 handle towards testing its next major hurdle near 146.50-55 area.