GBP/JPY turns positive to near 215.40 ahead of flash UK PMI data

Japanese Yen Price Today

The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the weakest against the Canadian Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		0.02%	0.07%	0.11%	-0.01%	0.12%	0.30%	0.03%
EUR	-0.02%		0.06%	0.06%	-0.03%	0.09%	0.28%	-0.02%
GBP	-0.07%	-0.06%		0.02%	-0.09%	0.04%	0.23%	-0.08%
JPY	-0.11%	-0.06%	-0.02%		-0.13%	0.02%	0.17%	-0.09%
CAD	0.00%	0.03%	0.09%	0.13%		0.15%	0.31%	0.02%
AUD	-0.12%	-0.09%	-0.04%	-0.02%	-0.15%		0.19%	-0.13%
NZD	-0.30%	-0.28%	-0.23%	-0.17%	-0.31%	-0.19%		-0.31%
CHF	-0.03%	0.02%	0.08%	0.09%	-0.02%	0.13%	0.31%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Japanese Yen from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent JPY (base)/USD (quote).

For meaningful cues on the BoJ’s monetary policy outlook, investors await the upcoming policy announcement on April 28, in which Japan’s central bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 0.75%.

The uncertainty over BoJ’s rate hike plans is prompted by growing economic concerns due to rising oil prices in the wake of the Strait of Hormuz closure.

Meanwhile, the Pound Sterling (GBP) exhibits a mixed performance ahead of the preliminary United Kingdom (UK) S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April, which will be published at 08:30 GMT. The PMI report is expected to show that the overall private sector activity contracted due to a decline in the service sector activity growth and a slowdown in the manufacturing activity. The UK Composite PMI is seen at 49.8, lower than 50.3 in March.

On the monetary policy front, the Bank of England (BoE) is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at 3.75% in its policy meeting on April 30, as the UK core and service Consumer Price Index (CPI) growth has cooled down. The BoE is unlikely to slash interest rates as inflation expectations are still elevated due to higher energy prices.

Economic Indicator

S&P Global Composite PMI

The Composite Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released on a monthly basis by S&P Global, is a leading indicator gauging private-business activity in UK for both the manufacturing and services sectors. The data is derived from surveys to senior executives. Each response is weighted according to the size of the company and its contribution to total manufacturing or services output accounted for by the sub-sector to which that company belongs. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month and can anticipate changing trends in official data series such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production, employment and inflation.The index varies between 0 and 100, with levels of 50.0 signaling no change over the previous month. A reading above 50 indicates that the UK private economy is generally expanding, a bullish sign for the Pound Sterling (GBP). Meanwhile, a reading below 50 signals that activity is generally declining, which is seen as bearish for GBP.