GBP/JPY rises to near 189.00 ahead of UK employment data

GBP/JPY extends its gains ahead of the release of UK labor market data on Tuesday.
The UK Claimant Count Change is anticipated to report a decline in jobless benefits claims for July.
Japan's parliament will hold a special session to discuss the BoJ’s last interest rate hike.

GBP/JPY continues to gain ground for the second successive day, trading around 188.70 during the Asian hours on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling (GBP) receives support from Monday’s hawkish remarks by the Bank of England (BoE) policymaker Catherine Mann.

In a podcast with the Financial Times (FT), BoE policymaker Mann raised concerns about UK wage growth, identifying it as a major inflation issue. She pointed out that services inflation continues to exceed 5% annually, making it challenging to reach the 2% headline inflation target.

Traders are now awaiting the release of monthly UK employment data on Tuesday, with expecting Claimant Count Change, claiming jobless benefits, declining to 14.5K for July, from the previous 32.3K reading. Furthermore, UK consumer inflation data are expected to show mixed figures on Wednesday.

The upside of risk-sensitive currencies like the British Pound could be restrained due to rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Safe-haven flows might have contributed support for the Japanese Yen (JPY), limiting the upside of the GBP/JPY cross.

Israeli forces pressed on with their operations near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday. CBC News cited Palestinian medics saying Israeli military strikes on Khan Younis on Monday killed at least 18 people.

Japan's parliament is set to hold a special session on August 23 to discuss the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) decision to raise interest rates last month. The session, organized by the lower house financial affairs committee, is anticipated to invite BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda to attend, according to government sources cited by Reuters.

Economic Indicator

Claimant Count Change

The Claimant Count Change released by the UK Office for National Statistics presents the change in the number of unemployed people in the UK claiming benefits. There is a tendency for the metric to influence GBP volatility. Usually, a rise in the indicator has negative implications for consumer spending and economic growth. Generally, a high reading is seen as bearish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), while a low reading is seen as bullish.

Why it matters to traders?

The change in the number of those claiming jobless benefits is an early gauge of the UK’s labor market. The figures are released for the previous month, contrary to the Unemployment Rate, which is for the prior one. This release is scheduled around the middle of the month. An increase in applications is a sign of a worsening economic situation and implies looser monetary policy, while a decrease indicates improving conditions. A higher-than-expected outcome tends to be GBP-bearish.

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