• GBP/JPY recovery appears to have slowed near 200.00 as UK Inflation comes under the spotlight.
• The UK annual headline inflation is expected to return to BoE’s 2% target.
• The BoJ postponed plans to reduce bond-buying operations.

The GBP/JPY pair struggles to extend recovery above the psychological resistance of 200.00 in Tuesday’s New York session. The cross is expected to trade sideways as investors shift focus to the United Kingdom (UK) Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for May, which will be published on Wednesday.

Economists expect that the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) will report a sharp decline in the annual core CPI, which strips off the more volatile items, to 3.5% from 3.9% in April. In the same period, the headline inflation is expected to return to the bank’s target of 2.0% from the prior reading of 2.3%. The monthly headline inflation is estimated to have grown at a faster pace of 0.4% from 0.3% in April.

A more-than-expected decline in UK inflation data will boost expectations of early rate cuts by the Bank of England (BoE). Though headline inflation is expected to return to 2%, investors will keenly focus on service inflation, which has been a major barrier to the BoE’s move towards policy normalization.