GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Retreats from yearly highs around 157.00 amid a risk-off market mood

• The GBP/JPY records a 0.34% loss, following the GBP/USD footsteps.
• In the overnight session, a risk-off market mood spurred a 150-pip drop of the pair.
• GBP/JPY Technical Outlook: It has an upward bias, as long as it remains above 156.00.

The British pound slides against the Japanese yen for the first time in the week, attributed to risk-off market mood during Thursday’s Asian and European session, influencing risk-sensitive currencies like the GBP, the AUD, and the NZD. At the time of writing, the cross-currency is trading at 156.80, down some 0.34%.

In the overnight session, the GBP/JPY opened near the highs of Wednesday, around 157.30s. However, as the Asian Pacific session began, the pair slumped sharply, breaching on its way south, support levels like the daily pivot point at 157.25, followed by the S1 daily pivot at 156.73, to finally stall at the S2 daily pivot at 156.06.

At press time, the GBP/JPY is seesawing around the S1 daily pivot and the 50-hour simple moving average (SMA), which lies at 156.96, some 30-pips above an upslope trendline in the 1-hour chart, drawn from December 2021 lows up to January swing lows.

That said, the GBP/JPY first resistance to the upside would be the 50-hour SMA at 156.96. A breach around the aforementioned and the psychological 157.00 price level would open the door for further gains. The next ceiling level would be the daily pivot at 157.25.

On the flip side, in the event of dropping further, the GBP/JPY’s first support would be the 100-hour SMA at 156.41. A breach of the latter would expose the cross-currency for a renewed test of the S2 daily pivot at 156.06, followed by the 200-hour SMA at 155.60.

GBP/JPY 1-hour chart