GBP/JPY has been in consolidation mode this past week, but that may soon change with U.K. employment data set to hit the wires in the upcoming London trading session.
Before moving on, ICYMI, today’s Daily U.S. Session Watchlist looked at a setup on EUR/USD as it potentially is ready to break resistance, so be sure to check that out to see if there is still a potential play!
Intermarket Update:
| Equity Markets | Bond Yields | Commodities & Crypto |
|
DAX: 15396.62 -0.13% FTSE: 7032.85 -0.15% S&P 500: 4163.29 -0.25% NASDAQ: 13379.05 -0.38% |
US 10-YR: 1.645% +0.01 Bund 10-YR: -0.111% +0.003 UK 10-YR: 0.865% -0.001 JPN 10-YR: 0.078% +-0.005 |
Oil: 66.32 +1.45% Gold: 1,866.80 +1.56% Bitcoin: $44,207.12 -2.86% Ethereum: $3,389.80 -0.76% |
Fresh Market Headlines & Economic Data:
Dow dips 50 points to start the week as tech weakness continues
U.S. Covid cases, deaths fall further amid easing of mask requirements
Portugal, Netherlands latest EU countries to ease travel restrictions
Overseas visitor arrivals were down by 170,900 to 4,600 in March 2021 vs. March 2020
The Business NZ Performance of Services Index in New Zealand increased to 61.2 in April of 2021
Japan producer prices up 3.6% in April
India’s virus cases decline but WHO expert says positive tests ominously high
Elon Musk clarifies that ‘Tesla has not sold any Bitcoin’
Upcoming Potential Catalysts on the Economic Calendar
Japan GDP at 11:50 pm GMT
RBA Meeting Minutes at 1:30 am GMT (May 18)
Japan Tertiary Industry Index at 4:30 am GMT (May 18)
U.K. Employment Change at 6:00 am GMT (May 18)
Italy Trade Balance at
U.K. Labour Productivity at 8:30 am GMT (May 18)
Euro area Trade Balance, Employment Change at 9:00 am GMT (May 18)
What to Watch: GBP/JPY
GBP/JPY 1-Hour Fore Chart
On the one-hour chart above of GBP/JPY, we can see that Guppy hasn’t moved much over the last six trading sessions as both Japan and the U.K. have been lacking in major catalysts. The trend is likely to remain up though the longer-term, as concerns of rising cases in Japan seem to have put pressure broadly on the yen lately.
Looking forward, this tight price action may not last too much longer with the latest U.K. employment update in the upcoming London session. That can be a short-term mover for Sterling, and if we see an improvement in job conditions from March to April, the current retest of the top of the range marked above may turn into an upside breakout scenario.
If the U.K.’s jobs data disappoints, that could mean a return of sellers at the top of the range to take the pair back to the bottom around 153.50 handle. That’s a one-daily ATR move from the top, so it’s a reachable target within the session if the actual numbers do give traders a big surprise.
Also, keep in mind that we’ve got U.K. CPI coming on Wednesday, so if you plan to take a position on GBP/JPY and hold into the next day, keep that in mind when assessing whether you should hold or not for a potential swing move or longer.
