• GBP/JPY falls as BoE March rate cut expectations weigh on Pound Sterling.
• BoE’s Catherine Mann praised January CPI, though core inflation stayed slightly elevated.
• Japan’s CPI rose 1.5% YoY; core CPI increased 2.0%, both slowing from prior readings.

GBP/JPY loses ground for the second successive session, trading around 208.60 during the Asian hours on Friday. The currency cross remains under pressure as the Pound Sterling (GBP) weakens ahead of the United Kingdom (UK) Retail Sales and S&P Global Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) releases due later in the day.

The British Pound is weighed down by rising expectations that the Bank of England (BoE) will cut interest rates at its March meeting. These bets strengthened after a soft UK labor report showed the Unemployment Rate climbing to 5.2% in the three months to December, alongside easing wage growth.

UK inflation also cooled to its lowest level in nearly a year, reinforcing dovish BoE expectations. BoE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Catherine Mann welcomed January’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, noting that headline inflation was encouraging, though core inflation remained slightly above desired levels.

The downside of the GBP/JPY cross could be restrained as the Japanese Yen (JPY) softens after January’s decline in both headline and core inflation, following government efforts to curb living costs.

Japan’s National Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 1.5% year-over-year (YoY) in January, easing from 2.1% previously. Core CPI, which excludes fresh food, rose 2.0% YoY, down from 2.4% and matching market expectations. Meanwhile, CPI excluding fresh food and energy climbed 2.6% YoY, compared with 2.9% in the prior month.