• The British pound clings to its gains, up some 0.02%.
• A dampened market mood weighed on the GBP/JPY, but it held to its gains.
• GBP/JPY Price Forecast: The pair is range-bound but tilted to the downside in the H1 chart.

The GBP/JPY modestly advances as the New York session winds down, and Asian prepares to take over, up some 0.02%. At the time of writing, the GBP/JPY is trading at 167.27.

On Thursday, US equities finished in the red, as Fed Chief Jerome Powell spooked investors when he said that 50-bps rate increases are “on the table” for the May meeting. Meanwhile, global bond yields rose. The UK’s 10-year Gilts rose by two basis points, sitting at 2.034%, while the Bank of Japan (BoJ) keeps the 10-year JGB at bay near the 0.25% threshold.

Aside from this, the GBP/JPY was range-bound in the 167.00-91 area, though of late, GBP/JPY bears dragged the pair under the 167.34, the 50-hour simple moving average (SMA), opening the door for further losses.

GBP/JPY Price Forecast: Technical outlook

The GBP/JPY remains tilted upwards, but the Relative Strength Index (RSI), with readings of 77, shows the pair as overbought, which means that the cross-currency pair might be subject to a mean-reversion move or a consolation ahead.

The GBP/JPY 1-hour chart illustrates the pair as range-bound but tilted downwards, portrayed by successive series of lower or equal highs, lying below the YTD high at 168.42. Also, as of writing, is testing an upslope trendline, drawn from April 20 lows, which once broken would open the door for further losses.

With that said, the GBP/JPY first support would be the 167.00 figure. A breach of the latter would expose the S1 daily pivot at 166.80, followed by the 100-hour SMA at 166.56, and then the S2 daily pivot point at 166.37.

Key Technical Levels