The British Pound (GBP) has resumed its broader uptrend against the Japanese Yen (JPY) on Wednesday, with price action drawing closer to the 217.00 level and the all-time high of 217.22 firmly in the bulls’ sights. Dovish comments from a Bank of Japan (BoJ) official have cast doubt over the central bank’s monetary tightening plans, adding pressure to an already weak Yen.
Earlier on Wednesday, BoJ board member Toichiro Asada — the lone vote opposing June’s interest rate hike — stated that he needs to see evidence of demand-driven inflation before supporting further monetary tightening.
Asada is the latest appointment to the bank’s government board and was hand-picked by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has repeatedly voiced her preference for low interest rates to promote economic growth. The BoJ official noted that he is “not always opposed” to rate hikes, but the comments are widely seen as a reflection of political pressure on the central bank that could curb plans to normalize monetary policy.
Technical Analysis: The Pound Might Reach Fresh Highs Around 218.00
GBP/JPY trades at 216.89 with a bullish near-term bias, as dips have been contained well above previous highs in the 216.00 area. The four-hour chart shows the Relative Strength Index (14) around 66.72, highlighting strong momentum, although a neutral Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) casts some doubt over the strength of the current rally.
Bulls are testing the 217.00 level, just ahead of the all-time high at 217.22. A break above that level would push the pair into uncharted territory. The broader picture suggests the pair may be in the fifth wave of an Elliott Wave bullish cycle, with the 127.2% retracement of last week’s reversal pointing to the 218.00 area as a plausible target.
Support levels are at Tuesday’s low of 216.41 and the July 2 highs around 216.00. Further below, the July 2 and 3 lows between 214.70 and 214.80 would come into focus.
Japanese Yen Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of the Japanese Yen (JPY) against major currencies. The Japanese Yen was the weakest against the New Zealand Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.00% | 0.06% | 0.18% | -0.24% | 0.07% | -0.49% | -0.07% | |
| EUR | -0.00% | 0.05% | 0.20% | -0.25% | 0.07% | -0.49% | -0.07% | |
| GBP | -0.06% | -0.05% | 0.13% | -0.30% | 0.00% | -0.54% | -0.15% | |
| JPY | -0.18% | -0.20% | -0.13% | -0.43% | -0.10% | -0.68% | -0.27% | |
| CAD | 0.24% | 0.25% | 0.30% | 0.43% | 0.33% | -0.25% | 0.16% | |
| AUD | -0.07% | -0.07% | -0.01% | 0.10% | -0.33% | -0.56% | -0.18% | |
| NZD | 0.49% | 0.49% | 0.54% | 0.68% | 0.25% | 0.56% | 0.39% | |
| CHF | 0.07% | 0.07% | 0.15% | 0.27% | -0.16% | 0.18% | -0.39% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is selected from the left column and the quote currency from the top row. For example, selecting the Japanese Yen from the left column and moving across to the US Dollar displays the percentage change for JPY (base)/USD (quote).
(The technical analysis in this article was written with the assistance of an AI tool. Know more.)
