GBP/JPY flirting with daily lows, just above mid-139.00s

• UK political uncertainty exerted some pressure on the British Pound.
• Reviving safe-haven demand for the JPY added to the selling bias.
• The market focus will remain glued to the UK political drama.

The selling pressure around the British Pound picked up some additional pace in the last hour and dragged the GBP/JPY cross to fresh session lows, around mid-139.00s.
 
Following a brief consolidation earlier this Tuesday, a combination of factors exerted some fresh downward pressure during the early European session and forced the cross to erode a part of the previous session's modest gains.

UK politics in focus

The UK political uncertainty, wherein the Prime Minister is set to table another election bill motion this Tuesday, was seen as one of the key factors weighing on the British Pound and kept a lid on the pair's attempted positive move.
 
It is worth recalling that Johnson on Monday failed to win support for an early general election and will now try to bypass the two-thirds majority rule by proposing a one-line bill to change the date set in law for the election to December 12.
 
The cross was further pressurized by a slightly softer tilt in the risk mood, as depicted by a turnaround in equity markets and which tends to underpin demand for traditional safe-haven currencies – including the Japanese Yen.
 
Despite the downtick, the cross remained well within its recent trading range held over the past one week or so and has also managed to hold its neck above the very important 200-day SMA.
 
Moving ahead, the incoming UK political/Brexit-related headlines might continue to act as an exclusive driver of the broader market sentiment surrounding the Sterling and produce some meaningful trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch