GBP/JPY ticks up to near 212.40 ahead of UK employment 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 New Zealand Dollar.

	USD	EUR	GBP	JPY	CAD	AUD	NZD	CHF
USD		-0.19%	-0.14%	-0.06%	-0.15%	-0.35%	-0.68%	-0.17%
EUR	0.19%		0.05%	0.13%	0.06%	-0.15%	-0.49%	0.02%
GBP	0.14%	-0.05%		0.08%	-0.01%	-0.21%	-0.53%	-0.04%
JPY	0.06%	-0.13%	-0.08%		-0.08%	-0.28%	-0.62%	-0.11%
CAD	0.15%	-0.06%	0.01%	0.08%		-0.20%	-0.53%	-0.02%
AUD	0.35%	0.15%	0.21%	0.28%	0.20%		-0.33%	0.20%
NZD	0.68%	0.49%	0.53%	0.62%	0.53%	0.33%		0.50%
CHF	0.17%	-0.02%	0.04%	0.11%	0.02%	-0.20%	-0.50%

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).

Japan's PM Takaichi announced plans to dissolve parliament’s lower house on January 23, and called a snap election on February 8. On the fiscal policy front, Takaichi stated that his administration will put an end to “excessively tight fiscal policy” and vowed to suspend the consumption tax for two years.

Such a scenario will be inflationary for the Japanese economy and might call for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) in the near term. This week, Japan’s central bank will announce its first monetary policy decision of the year on Friday, and is expected to hold interest rates steady at 0.75%. The BoJ is expected to keep the door open for further interest rate hikes.

Though the Pound Sterling (GBP) trades slightly higher against the JPY, the former is broadly underperforming ahead of the United Kingdom (UK) employment data for the three months ending in November. The labor market report is expected to show that the ILO Unemployment Rate dropped to 5% from 5.1% in three months in October, the highest level seen since October 2021.

Signs of improvement in job market conditions would weigh on bets supporting interest rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE) in the near term. This week, investors will also pay close attention to the UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December, which will be published on Wednesday.

Economic Indicator

ILO Unemployment Rate (3M)

The ILO Unemployment Rate released by the UK Office for National Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. It is a leading indicator for the UK Economy. If the rate goes up, it indicates a lack of expansion within the UK labor market. As a result, a rise leads to a weakening of the UK economy. Generally, a decrease of the figure is seen as bullish for the Pound Sterling (GBP), while an increase is seen as bearish.

Why it matters to traders?

The Unemployment Rate is the broadest indicator of Britain’s labor market. The figure is highlighted by the broad media, beyond the financial sector, giving the publication a more significant impact despite its late publication. It is released around six weeks after the month ends. While the Bank of England is tasked with maintaining price stability, there is a substantial inverse correlation between unemployment and inflation. A higher than expected figure tends to be GBP-bearish.