The Pound Sterling to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 195.2100.
The Pound Sterling appreciated versus many of its peers on Wednesday morning following hawkish comments from Bank of England (BoE) official Martin Weal in an interview with Financial Times. Weale suggested that the recent improvement in the labour market will pressure the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), of which he is a member, to increase the cash rate within 2015. Weale himself says he is likely to vote for a hike within the next few policy meetings.
‘Recently, it seems that rather than [wage increases] fizzling out, the labour market … is fizzing away nicely.’
Sterling gains were pegged back a fractionally later on Wednesday morning, however, after the solitary British economic data publication failed to meet with expectations. May’s BBA Loans for House Purchase was forecast to see 43,350 mortgage approvals, but the actual result only reached 42,530. However, the slighter-than-expected increase in mortgage approvals is still a 14-month high which provides fresh evidence of confidence in the housing market.
‘The increase in mortgage approvals this month is consistent with the trend we’ve seen since the start of the year’” said Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA. ‘The numbers show that the property market remains buoyant after the general election.’
The Japanese Yen, meanwhile, edged higher versus many of its peers after the Bank of Japan published reasonably positive minutes from the most recent monetary policy meeting. The minutes highlighted optimism that the economic recovery was on pace to continue and did not warrant any stimulation at this juncture. Slight concern regarding consumer prices in Tokyo was highlighted, however, which may lead to future stimulus measures if deemed necessary.
‘Japan's economy is expected to continue recovering moderately,’ the minutes said. ‘The year-on-year rate of increase in the CPI is likely to be about 0% for the time being, due to the effects of the decline in energy prices.’
The Yen uptrend was somewhat stymied, however, after June’s Small Business Confidence failed to meet with the median market forecast. Having been expected to rise from 48.1 to 48.3, Small Business Confidence actually dropped to 46.9; well below the 50 mark which seperates growth from contraction. The depreciation has been linked to the weakness of the Japanese Yen.
The Pound Sterling to Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY) exchange rate was trending within the range of 194.8000 – 195.8800 during Wednesday’s European session.
Advertisement