Forex: GBP/JPY rises back to 150.00 mark ahead of G20

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The GBP/JPY stayed subdued below the opening price following the release of UK retail sales, ranging at 149.30/60, but the Yen has been weakening ever since, pushing the cross higher above the 150.00 mark, to a high at 150.27.

The Yen is being driven by the G20 meeting that starts today and will be focusing on the aggressive monetary easing by the Bank of Japan. The economic calendar showed rising exports in Japan, by from -2.9% to +1.1% in March, beating +0.4% consensus. Imports eased, from 11.9% to 5.5%, below the 6.3% expected. The adjusted Merchandise trade deficit narrowed from ¥-1,086.581B to ¥-921.976B, better than the ¥-934.500B expected.

The UK retail sales report came in better than expected, with a monthly contraction by -0.7% in March (annualized drop from 2.5% to -0.5%), higher than the -0.8% expected. Excluding fuel came in worse than expected, the monthly fall was of -0.8% (consensus of -0.5%) and the annualized figure eased from 3.2% to 0.4% (consensus of 0.9%). “However, the details were weaker, with the only saving grace being that people have to eat, with food store sales +0.9%. Most non-food categories posted big losses: clothing and footwear -3.1%, household goods -6.2%, and non-specialized stores -4.0%”, wrote TD Securities analysts.

Mataf.net analysts point to resistance at 150.1, 151.15 and 151.75, while supports might be found at 149.00, 148.10 and 146.45.