Sterling’s rally against the Japanese Yen has stalled below the 211.50 level. The pair is now looking for direction, with downside attempts contained above 210.00 so far. The minutes of the latest BoJ meeting have cemented hopes of further monetary tightening, and the tensions in the East China Sea have dampened risk appetite, altogether providing support to the safe-haven Yen.
The Chinese Navy extends military drills for the second day, including live-fire of missiles and rehearsals of a total blockade of the Taiwan island, which has forced Taipei to ramp up its defences. The escalating tensions in the region have hammered Asian markets and are providing some support to the safe-haven Yen on Tuesday.
In the 4-hour chart, GBP/JPY trades at 210.76, posting marginal losses on the daily chart. The broader bullish trend remains intact, but technical indicators are entering negative territory. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) remains slightly below zero, while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains wavering around the key 50 level, showing a lack of clear direction.
Immediate support stands at 210.05 (December 24 low), and the trendline from early November lows is now at 209.35. A confirmation below those levels will bring the mid-December highs, around 208.90, into focus.
On the upside, the 211.53 long-term high is holding bulls for now. Further up, tthe 127.2% Fibonacci extension of the December 15 to December 22 rally, at 212.75, and the 161.8% extension of the same cycle, at 214.38, are plausible targets.
(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool)
The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the Swiss Franc.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.00% | -0.07% | -0.12% | -0.08% | -0.23% | -0.16% | -0.01% | |
| EUR | -0.01% | -0.08% | -0.13% | -0.10% | -0.26% | -0.16% | -0.04% | |
| GBP | 0.07% | 0.08% | -0.04% | -0.02% | -0.17% | -0.07% | 0.04% | |
| JPY | 0.12% | 0.13% | 0.04% | 0.03% | -0.11% | -0.05% | 0.14% | |
| CAD | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.02% | -0.03% | -0.14% | -0.07% | 0.06% | |
| AUD | 0.23% | 0.26% | 0.17% | 0.11% | 0.14% | 0.08% | 0.21% | |
| NZD | 0.16% | 0.16% | 0.07% | 0.05% | 0.07% | -0.08% | 0.13% | |
| CHF | 0.01% | 0.04% | -0.04% | -0.14% | -0.06% | -0.21% | -0.13% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).