GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Steady around 150.30s as market participants head into the weekend

• A risk-on market mood boosts risk-sensitive currencies like the British pound, the JPY falls.
• Traders’ mood turned negative when the US inflation crossed the wires, thought later improved.
• GBP/JPY Price Forecast: Has a neutral-bullish bias, though downside risks remain.

The British pound pares some Thursday’s losses during the New York session gains 0.31%, trading at 150.45 at the time of writing. In the American session, a risk-on market mood kept safe-haven currencies like the JPY low. Also, major US equities are rising between 0.51% and 0.90%, while the US 10-year Treasury yield is flat at 1.485%.

Apart from that, the GBP/JPY pair fluctuated around the 149.75-150.25 range during the overnight session. When Wall Street opened, the cross-currency dropped from 150.20 to the bottom of the aforementioned range, as investors weighed the US inflation figures, which showed that the uptrend in elevated prices had not peaked yet. Then, once the report was dissected and market mood improved, that boosted risk-sensitive currencies, in this case, sterling, advancing sharply towards 150.34, as the European session ended.

GBP/JPY Price Forecast: Techincal outlook

The 1-hour chart at press time depicts that the GBP/JPY trades above the December 9 high, which lies at 150.31. The bias for the pair is neutral, as it has been in consolidation throughout the last three days, failing to print fresh daily highs/lows. However, the GBP bulls appear to be in control, as the hourly simple moving averages (SMAs) reside below the spot price. 

To the upside, the first resistance would be the December 8 cycle high at 150.69, followed by the December swing high at 151.12.

On the flip side, the first support would be Friday’s low at 149.66. A breach of that level would expose crucial cycle lows, like December’s 8 at 149.34, followed by the December 3 pivot low at 148.97.