British Pound drifts lower vs JPY amid intervention fears, UK political turmoil
Di Haresh Menghani
Aggiornato: 12 May 2026
ARTICOLI POPOLARI
The GBP/JPY cross struggles to capitalize on the previous day's bounce from the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and attracts heavy intraday selling on Tuesday.
- GBP/JPY attracts heavy selling on Tuesday and is pressured by a combination of factors.
- Intervention fears and US-Iran tensions boost the safe-haven JPY, weighing on the cross.
- UK political uncertainty undermines the GBP and contributes to the sharp intraday decline.
The GBP/JPY cross struggles to capitalize on the previous day's bounce from the 100-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) and attracts heavy intraday selling on Tuesday. Spot prices maintain an offered tone through the early part of the European session and currently trade around the 213.00 mark, down over 0.40% for the day.
The Japanese Yen (JPY) strengthens across the board after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed through a post on X that the US and Japan took some actions together against excessive volatility in currency markets. The comments fueled fresh speculations that authorities will step in again to stem further weakness in the JPY, which turns out to be a key factor exerting pressure on the GBP/JPY cross.
Meanwhile, the summary of Opinions from the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) April meeting left the door open for an imminent interest rate hike. This helps offset the disappointing release of Japan's Household Spending data for March and lends additional support to the JPY. Apart from this, persistent geopolitical uncertainties benefit the JPY's relative safe-haven status and contribute to the GBP/JPY pair's decline.
Meanwhile, more than 70 Labour MPs publicly called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down following the party's heavy losses in English local elections and parliamentary votes in Scotland and Wales. This, along with a broadly firmer US Dollar (USD), turns out to be another factor weighing on the British Pound (GBP) and the GBP/JPY cross, backing the case for a further near-term depreciating move.
Japanese Yen Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Japanese Yen (JPY) against listed major currencies today. Japanese Yen was the strongest against the British Pound.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | 0.31% | 0.60% | 0.13% | 0.14% | 0.41% | 0.27% | 0.32% | |
| EUR | -0.31% | 0.28% | -0.15% | -0.20% | 0.09% | -0.05% | 0.00% | |
| GBP | -0.60% | -0.28% | -0.47% | -0.48% | -0.19% | -0.33% | -0.28% | |
| JPY | -0.13% | 0.15% | 0.47% | -0.02% | 0.25% | 0.12% | 0.16% | |
| CAD | -0.14% | 0.20% | 0.48% | 0.02% | 0.27% | 0.14% | 0.17% | |
| AUD | -0.41% | -0.09% | 0.19% | -0.25% | -0.27% | -0.13% | -0.10% | |
| NZD | -0.27% | 0.05% | 0.33% | -0.12% | -0.14% | 0.13% | 0.03% | |
| CHF | -0.32% | -0.01% | 0.28% | -0.16% | -0.17% | 0.10% | -0.03% |
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).
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