GBP/JPY weakens further below 146.00 handle, lowest since mid-Sept.

   •  Brexit concerns continue to weigh on the British Pound.
   •  JPY boosted by upbeat domestic data/risk-off mood.
   •  Kuroda’s comments add to the downward pressure.

The GBP/JPY cross struggled to find any buyers and has now slipped below the 146.00 handle, or fresh 5-1/2 month lows.

Against the backdrop of some renewed Brexit worries, especially following the release of EU's own draft Brexit withdrawal treaty, the cross extended Wednesday's bearish break below the very important 200-day SMA and traded with a negative bias for the fifth consecutive session.

Also collaborating to the pair's downfall was a strong bid tone surrounding the Japanese Yen, which extracted some support from today's slightly better-than-expected Tokyo Core CPI and an unexpected drop in the Japanese unemployment rate. 

Adding to this, a fresh wave of global risk aversion trade provided an additional boost to the Japanese Yen's safe-haven demand, which coupled with not so dovish comments by BoJ's Kuroda, during his confirmation hearing on Friday, continued exerting downward pressure on the cross.

Today's key focus would be on the UK PM Theresa May's keynote Brexit speech, which if fails to provide enough details would set the stage for an extension of the pair's bearish trajectory in the near-term.

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through selling pressure has the potential to continue dragging the pair further towards the key 145.00 psychological mark with some intermediate support near mid-145.00s. On the upside, any meaningful recovery attempt is likely to confront fresh supply near the 146.30-40 region, above which a bout of short-covering could lift the cross back beyond the 147.00 handle towards testing 200-day SMA support turned resistance near the 147.60-70 region.