Investing.com – The pound tumbled to a fresh 15-week low against the yen on Tuesday, as rising risk aversion drove investors to the safe-haven yen.
GBP/JPY hit 128.40 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since May 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 128.60, shedding 0.79%.
The pair was likely to find support at 127.63, the low of May 25, and resistance at 130.64, Monday’s high.
Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank was paying close attention to the yen’s movements in the currency market and repeated that it would act to curb the currency’s rises “when necessary”.
His comments followed the BoJ’s announcement to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.10% in September, as widely expected. The central bank has not changed its benchmark interest rate since December 2008.
In a monetary policy statement released after the announcement, the BoJ said Japan's economy showed “further signs of a moderate recovery”.
However, the statement added that with the “backdrop of increased uncertainty about the future, especially for the U.S. economy, and associated instability in the foreign exchange and stock markets, attention should be paid to downside risks to Japan's economy,".
The pound was also down against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.41% to hit 1.5331.
Earlier Tuesday, official Japanese data showed that its index of leading indicators fell more-than-expected in July.
GBP/JPY hit 128.40 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since May 25; the pair subsequently consolidated at 128.60, shedding 0.79%.
The pair was likely to find support at 127.63, the low of May 25, and resistance at 130.64, Monday’s high.
Earlier in the day, Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said the central bank was paying close attention to the yen’s movements in the currency market and repeated that it would act to curb the currency’s rises “when necessary”.
His comments followed the BoJ’s announcement to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.10% in September, as widely expected. The central bank has not changed its benchmark interest rate since December 2008.
In a monetary policy statement released after the announcement, the BoJ said Japan's economy showed “further signs of a moderate recovery”.
However, the statement added that with the “backdrop of increased uncertainty about the future, especially for the U.S. economy, and associated instability in the foreign exchange and stock markets, attention should be paid to downside risks to Japan's economy,".
The pound was also down against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.41% to hit 1.5331.
Earlier Tuesday, official Japanese data showed that its index of leading indicators fell more-than-expected in July.