The GBP/JPY pair is one of the world’s most popular cross-currency pairings, with both currencies numbering among the top 10 most traded in the world.
What is the GBP/JPY outlook for 2022? How did the exchange rate perform in 2021? And what are the key pound to yen predictions for 2022?
In this article, we will answer these questions and look at what to consider when trading the GBP versus the JPY.
GBP/JPY outlook: Where is the pair now?
Over the past year, the GBP/JPY news has been largely similar to how the global risk appetite has moved.
From a low of 141 in January 2021, the exchange rate hit a high of 158 in late October as economic recovery in the United Kingdom and the western world was much sharper than in Japan. However, the yen clawed back after the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 posed fresh threats.
Riding on the global risk-off mood, the GBP/JPY slipped to 149 by early December, before monetary policy tightening took centre stage. With the Bank of Japan far behind the Bank of England when it comes to raising interest rates and the latter’s surprise rate hike in mid-December, the GBP/JPY started rising again, nearly touching 52-week highs in the week of 10 January.
While the Bank of England remains ahead of the Bank of Japan in monetary policy tightening, the US Federal Reserve’s aggressive calls for tightening have once again sparked a risk-off mood in global markets. The GBP/JPY exchange rate has felt the same and slipped down to 155.81 on 18 January.
GBP/JPY technical analysis
The current market sentiment for the GBP/JPY pair reflects the increasing risk-off sentiment in the global markets. The Japanese yen is considered a safe haven currency and tends to perform better when investors are not too keen on taking risks.
At time of writing, on 18 January, data from Capital.com showed trader sentiment at 34% bullish and 66% bearish. However, that sentiment data was calculated automatically, based on open positions for GBP/JPY on the platform, and should not be considered as an incentive to trade the asset.
According to FXStreet, short-term support for the exchange rate is still seen at 156, despite the exchange rate slipping below the support level on 18 January. The report adds that if the exchange rate stays below 156 for a prolonged period, then support levels of 155.45 could be tested over the month of January.
GBP/JPY forecast: Key fundamental drivers
Sterling is one of the world’s strongest currencies. It is the former global reserve currency with a role in a major financial trading centre. The value of GBP has been predominantly driven of late by the status of the Brexit process that began when the UK voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 referendum.
Over the course of 2021, the GBP’s fate was largely determined by its economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. With a strong vaccination drive, the economy recovered quickly as the United Kingdom eased restrictions, and by mid-December the Bank of England was confident enough to start tightening monetary policy with its first rate hike.
The Japanese yen, on the other hand, is considered a safe haven currency, meaning that investors flock to the yen when sentiment sours and risk aversion dominates. In recent weeks, the JPY even performed better than the USD as a safe haven currency.
Given that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintains an accommodative policy and has been doing so for most of the last 25 years, the currency often forms part of a carry trade. In other words, investors borrow the yen to purchase other currencies with higher interest rates.
In 2021, its stuttering economy and political changes affected its safe haven currency status and it struggled against major currencies, even when risk-off sentiment was strong in the global markets.
GBP/JPY prediction: What are analysts saying?
Very few analysts cover the GBP/JPY pair, be it in UK-based banks or Japan-based banks. Therefore, a long-term pound sterling to yen exchange rate forecast is not available.
However, some reputed analysts have shared their views on the individual currencies. For GBP, the forecast is positive.
Similarly, according to Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING, the strong economic data from the United Kingdom bodes well for the GBP.
“A testament of the pound’s good momentum in the new year has indeed been the non-reactiveness of the currency to the political events in the UK…We think that a resignation by Boris may have a quite limited negative impact on GBP, as there would be no immediate implications for the UK growth outlook.
“Most focus should be on the Brexit stance: Truss’ first meeting with EU officials seemed to indicate a less confrontational approach, although the discussions over the Northern Ireland protocol are still set to prove challenging,” he added.
However, according to Philip Wee, senior FX strategist at Singapore-based DBS Bank, the upside to the GBP is limited.
Meanwhile, regarding the JPY, ING Bank’s Pesole says the currency is finding good support because of how oversold it was last year and lingering risk-off sentiments in the markets.
At DBS, Wee also sees little downside for the JPY.
“Our economist expects the BoJ to lift the FY2022 inflation forecast slightly above 1%, up from 0.9% currently, but maintain the projection for inflation to stay below the 2% target till FY2023. Policy will stay ultra-accommodative with no urgency to join its peers in tightening to curb inflation, more so if the BoJ decides to conduct a thorough analysis on inflation,” he wrote in the note cited above.
When looking for GBP/JPY forecasts, it’s important to bear in mind that analysts’ predictions can be wrong. Their projections are based on making a fundamental and technical study of the currency pair’s performance. However, past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Do your own research and always remember your decision to trade depends on your attitude to risk, your expertise in this market, the spread of your investment portfolio and how comfortable you feel about losing money. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Key facts about GBP/JPY pair
The British pound sterling (GBP) to Japanese yen (JPY) exchange rate shows how many JPY are needed to buy one GBP.
The GBP is the official currency of the United Kingdom, the world’s fifth largest economy, and the fourth most-traded currency in the world, accounting for 12.7% of all global forex transactions in the world.
The Japanese yen is the official currency of the world’s third largest economy, Japan. It is also the third most-traded currency, accounting for 16.8% of all forex transactions, after the US dollar (USD) and euro (EUR).
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