GBP/JPY ignores mixed concerns about UK/Japan spending to pierce 185.00 amid firmer yields

• GBP/JPY extends week-start recovery amid market’s cautious optimism.
• UK BRC data suggest upbeat Retail Sales but Barclays hints at softer spending.
• Japan Household spending prints the worst drop since February 2021.
• BoE Monetary Policy Report Hearings, Japan Q2 GDP are the key for clear directions.

GBP/JPY bulls attack 185.00 during a two-day winning streak amid Tuesday’s Asian session. In doing so, the cross-currency pair fails to justify the mixed signals about the British and the Japanese spending but traces the recently firmer Treasury bond yields.

“Annual growth in the UK consumer spending on credit and debit cards slowed to 2.8% in August from 4.0% in July,” said Barclays Bank on early Tuesday per Reuters. On the other hand, the UK’s BRC Like-for-Like Retail Sales grew 4.3% YoY for August versus 1.8% prior.

On the other hand, Japanese household spending marks the biggest fall since February 2021, as well as declining for the fifth consecutive month, to -5.0% in July versus -2.5% market forecasts. It’s worth noting that the final readings of Japan’s Jibun Bank Services PMI for August confirmed the initial forecasts of 54.3.

Elsewhere, the US 10-year Treasury bond yields rose two basis points (bps) to 4.20% after a holiday-driven inaction.

Amid these plays, S&P 500 Futures and Japan’s Nikkei 225 print mild losses amid the market’s cautious mood as traders from the US return after a long weekend.

Looking ahead, the final readings of the UK PMIs for August and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) concerns may entertain the intraday traders of the GBP/JPY pair. However, major attention will be given to the Bank of England (BoE) Monetary Policy Report Hearings and Japan’s second-quarter (Q2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP), scheduled for publishing on Thursday and Friday respectively.

Technical analysis

A fortnight-old symmetrical triangle restricts immediate GBP/JPY moves between 185.75 and 183.70 at the latest.