GBP/JPY Price Analysis: Bears resist to return even as bulls retreat from 167.50 hurdle

• GBP/JPY snaps two-day uptrend, struggles around 1.5-month-old resistance line, 200-SMA and weekly horizontal hurdle.
• Sluggish MACD signals, one-week-old support line restrict seller’s entry.
• Bulls need to cross 167.50 to aim for double tops around 169.00.

GBP/JPY remains mildly offered around 167.00 as it jostles with the short-term key hurdles during Friday. In doing so, the cross-currency pair snaps a two-day uptrend but stays on the way to weekly gains.

That said, GBP/JPY currently pokes the resistance-turned-support line from October 31, around 166.90 while reversing from the 200-SMA resistance of 167.22. Also challenging the pair buyers is the horizontal area comprising multiple tops marked since November 28, near 167.50.

It’s worth noting, however, that the sluggish MACD signals and an upward-sloping support line from the last Friday, around 166.60, restrict the GBP/JPY bear’s entry.

Following that, the 165.50 could act as an intermediate halt before directing the pair towards the monthly low near 164.00.

In a case where the GBP/JPY bears keep the reins past 164.00, the previous monthly trough surrounding 163.00 will be in focus.

On the contrary, a clear upside break of the 167.50 resistance will quickly propel the prices toward the one-month-old horizontal resistance zone near 169.00-10.

Should the GBP/JPY buyers manage to cross the 169.10 upside barrier, the odds of their rush toward the late October peak near 172.15 can’t be ruled out.

GBP/JPY: Four-hour chart

Trend: Further downside expected