GBP/JPY pulls back from weekly highs above 155.00 as risk appetite deteriorates

• GBP/JPY pulled back from weekly highs above 155.00 as risk appetite deteriorated in the latter stages of US trade.
• GBP/JPY is back to trading near 154.00, near the middle of recent ranges, as markets remain concerned by Ukraine events.

Thursday was a choppy, mixed day for global financial markets, with large swings observed in commodity markets and US equities trading in both the red and green during US trade. Ultimately, risk appetite took a turn for the worse towards the end of US trading hours, as traders opted to take some risk off of the table ahead of Friday’s US labour market report. The Russo-Ukraine does not look likely to de-escalate anytime soon meaning commodity market respite seems unlikely, and the general message from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at his Congressional testimony this week was hawkish-leaning, so there isn't exactly much for investors to cheer right now.

The net result for GBP/JPY was that the pair pulled back from weekly highs it hit to the north of the 155.00 level earlier in the day, after running into resistance in the form of lows from back in mid-February. The pair has since fallen back to test the 154.00 mark and is on course to drop about 0.5% on the day, though still trades nearly 1.0% above sub-153.00 lows set earlier in the week. Until there is more clarity on the impact that the Ukraine war will have on the global economy and on how central banks will respond, risk appetite is likely to remain choppy and it might be difficult for the pair to break out of recent 152.60-155.20ish ranges.