The GBP/JPY cross maintained its offered tone through the early European session, albeit has managed to recover few pips from daily swing lows. The cross was last seen trading just above mid-150.00s, down for the fourth consecutive session.
The cross struggled to capitalize on the previous day's strong rebound from two-week lows, instead met with some fresh supply on Tuesday and was pressured by a combination of factors. Investors turned cautious after the US, Canada, UK and EU – in a rare, coordinated move – imposed sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights violations in Xinjiang. This, in turn, drove some haven flows towards the Japanese yen and prompted selling around the GBP/JPY cross.