Key Moments

GBP Holds Firm as Yen Struggles

The British Pound (GBP) is trading stronger against a soft Japanese Yen (JPY), extending its advance for the fourth consecutive session. Dips in GBP/JPY have been met with demand around the lower 212.00s, while the March peak near 213.30 remains an important upside reference for bullish traders.

Market participants have viewed the Pound as more resilient than the Yen in the context of the war in Iran. Worries about the Oil shock and its potential impact on large crude importers such as Japan have limited buying interest in JPY since the conflict started, acting as a drag on any sustained Yen recovery.

BoJ Expectations and Short-Lived Yen Bounce

Earlier this week, robust Japanese Labour Cash Earnings data prompted speculation that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) could move toward another interest rate increase in the near term. This scenario was backed on Tuesday by former BoJ board member Seiji Adachi, which helped the Yen rebound from recent lows on Wednesday. However, that JPY recovery quickly faded, and GBP/JPY resumed its upward trajectory.

Technical Picture: Bullish Bias Intact

From a technical standpoint, GBP/JPY continues to show a constructive near-term outlook. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains in positive territory after easing back from overbought conditions. At the same time, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) histogram stays slightly above zero, pointing to ongoing, though not overstretched, bullish momentum.

On the upside, buyers were capped on Wednesday at 213.15, just below the March high of 213.31. A sustained move above that level would turn attention to the next resistance zone around the February 9 peak, in the 214.00 area.

On the downside, initial support is located at Wednesday’s low near 212.20. Below that, additional layers of support are seen at the April 1 high at 211.44, followed by the April 2 and April 5 lows around 210.50.

(This story was corrected on April 9 at 09:00 GMT to say that the 214.00 area is the February 9 high, and not an early-February high, as previously reported.)

Pound Sterling Performance Against Major Currencies

The table below summarizes the percentage change of the British Pound (GBP) versus major currencies today. Among the listed pairs, GBP showed its strongest relative performance against the Japanese Yen.

The accompanying heat map referenced in the original analysis illustrates percentage changes among major currencies. In that framework, the base currency is selected from the left-hand column and the quote currency from the top row. For instance, choosing the British Pound on the left and the US Dollar on the top shows the percentage move for GBP (base)/USD (quote).