GBP/JPY drops below 183.50 as bears take the lead

• GBP/JPY fell towards the 182.50 level and then stabilised above 183.00.
• Rising British and American yields limit the Yen’s advance.
• Eyes on Labor Cash Earnings data from Japan and NFP data from the US.

On Thursday, the GBP/JPY trades with losses after three consecutive gains as the cross retreats from overbought conditions. After falling towards 182.50, the pair jumped back towards 183.30, but further downside shouldn’t be ruled out.

That being said, the rising British due to UK Debt Management Office selling bond yielding 5.668% will limit the GBP’s losses. The 2-year gilt stands rose to 5.55%, its highest level since 2007, while the 5 and 10-year yields stand at 4.95% and 4.70%, respectively, more than 3% increases. 

Moreover, ADP’s hot employment figures from the US fueled an increase of US Treasury yields which also limited the JPY advance.

On Friday, at the early Asian session, investors will eye Labor Cash Earnings data from Japan from May, expected to decelerate to 0.7% YoY from the previous 1%. In addition, the focus will be Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP) from June from the US, which are expected to slip to 225K from the previous 339K. In that sense, the outcome of the NFP figures may fuel volatility in the US bond market and hence affect the JPY and GBP’s price dynamics.

GBP/JPY Levels to watch

According to the daily chart, the cross is still poised for further downside. Technical indicators, specifically the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), show weakness, indicating that the bears are starting to take the lead.

On the downside, support levels for the cross line up at the daily low of 182.50, followed by the 182.00 zone and the 181.50 area. On the flip side, resistances to monitor line up at 183.50 and the cycle high at 184.00.