GBP/JPY climbs to YTD tops, around 144.60 and retreats
- GBP/JPY added to the overnight strength and continued gaining traction on Thursday.
- Heavily offered tone surrounding the JPY was seen as an exclusive driver of the move up.
- Upbeat UK retail sales failed to impress GBP bulls amid persistent fears of a no-deal Brexit.
The Japanese yen (JPY) maintained its heavily offered tone on Thursday and lifted the GBP/JPY cross to YTD tops, around the 144.60 region.
The cross gained some follow-through traction for the second consecutive session on Thursday and the ongoing momentum was exclusively driven by an offered tone surrounding the safe-haven JPY.
The buying interest around traditional safe-haven assets faded further after the PBoC moved to cut its benchmark loan prime rate on Thursday, which assisted the cross to build on the overnight strength.
Bulls seemed rather unaffected by a subdued action surrounding the British pound, with the JPY price dynamics turning out to be an exclusive driver of move through the early European session on Thursday.
Against the backdrop of persistent fears that Britain might crash out of the European Union at the end of the transition period, the GBP failed to gain any respite from Thursday's upbeat UK monthly retail sales figures.
Given Wednesday's break through a two-month-old descending trend-line, some technical buying could further be attributed to the ongoing move and also supports prospects for additional gains.
Technical levels to watch