GBP/JPY scales 2-week peak after UK, Japanese macro data

The GBP/JPY currency pair registered a fresh two-week high on Tuesday, after data showed UK’s adjusted experimental unemployment rate had risen in the three months leading up to August, while Japan’s factory activity had contracted for a fifth successive month in October.

Provisional data by the Office for National Statistics showed UK’s adjusted unemployment rate had surged to 4.2% in the three months to August from 4% during the March to May period.

The statistical agency had to delay the employment data publication for one week because of increased uncertainty surrounding the Labor Force Survey estimates.

UK’s employment rate dropped 0.3% to 75.7% during the period, while the economic inactivity rate inched up 0.1% to 20.9%.

In other data, the Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at a reading of 48.5 in October, unchanged from September’s seven-month low.

Meanwhile, the Jibun Bank Japan Services PMI dropped to a level of 51.1 in October, preliminary data showed, from 53.9 in September. The index pointed to the weakest services sector activity growth since December 2022.

The Bank of Japan is expected to announce its policy decision on October 31st. Monetary policy tightening environment globally has led to a discussion about a possible tweak to the central bank’s yield curve control policy.

As of 7:28 GMT on Tuesday GBP/JPY was inching up 0.05% to trade at 183.396. Earlier in the session, the minor Forex pair went up as high as 183.754. The latter has been the pair’s strongest level since October 12th (183.814).