GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Bears flex muscles around 163.50

• GBP/JPY remains sidelined after breaking one-month-old ascending support line.
• Receding bullish bias of MACD adds strength to the downside bias.
• 200-day EMA appears the key support; descending trend line from late October strengths 163.80-90 resistance confluence.

GBP/JPY treads water around 163.50 during early Tuesday, following a daily closing beneath the one-month-old support line, now resistance, the previous day. Not only the trend line breakdown but the receding bullish bias of the MACD also keeps the cross-currency pair’s sellers hopeful.

That said, the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) level of 162.00 appears the short-term key support for the GBP/JPY pair.

However, multiple supports near 161.60, 161.00 and the 160.00 psychological magnet could challenge the bears afterward.

Should the quote remains bearish past 160.00, a two-month-old ascending support line near 159.00 will be crucial to watch for further directions.

On the flip side, the support-turned-resistance line from early February joins a downward-sloping trend line resistance from October 31, 2022, to highlight 163.80-90 as the key upside hurdle. Also acting as the additional filter to the north is the 164.00 round figure.

In a case where the GBP/JPY remains firmer past 164.00, February’s high of near 166.00 could act as the last defense of the pair bears, a break of which could quickly propel the prices towards late 2022 peak surrounding 169.30 before highlighting the 170.00 round figure.

Overall, GBP/JPY is likely to remain on the bear’s radar even if the 200-day EMA probes sellers.

GBP/JPY: Daily chart

Trend: Further downside expected