Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 19, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSterling strengthens as UK economic data and Greenland tensions influence markets. Upcoming UK employment and inflation data are crucial.
By Sophie Kiderlin
LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Sterling rose on Monday as markets looked to UK economic data points due throughout the week, while U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats against Europe over Greenland raised geopolitical concerns.
The pound was up 0.16% to $1.3402. It ended the previous week down 0.13%.
The euro was flat against the pound at 86.75 pence.
Kit Juckes, chief FX strategist at Societe Generale, said the pound has performed relatively well so far this year, but this move could soon come to an end as new economic data is released.
"The idea that the UK economy is doing well, I think isn't particularly priced by anybody, but certainly people are going to be nervously looking at some of the upcoming data," he said.
"So it feels as if we've seen sterling rally against the euro just about as far as it's going to manage to and it's going to run out of some momentum."
So far this year, the pound is down around 0.5% against the dollar, yet has strengthened a similar amount against the euro.
In the coming days, November UK employment data, as well as December inflation and retail sales figures are due.
Trump over the weekend said an additional 10% tariff would be applied to goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain from February 1 until the United States can buy Greenland.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday called for a calm discussion on Greenland, while European allies scrambled to avert extra duties and prepared retaliatory measures.
The dollar slipped broadly on Monday as investors moved money away from U.S. assets.
"I think the geopolitical backdrop is certainly playing its part, but we're not quite front and centre of it," Juckes said. But, as the pound reacts to UK data, there will be "at least one eye floating around at...the wider world."
Juckes noted that this also includes Trump's appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, where the U.S. president is expected to deliver remarks that will be closely watched by investors globally.
(Reporting by Sophie Kiderlin; Editing by Amanda Cooper and Kirsten Donovan)
The UK economy refers to the economic system of the United Kingdom, characterized by a mix of private and public enterprises, and is one of the largest economies in the world.
Foreign currency is any currency that is not the domestic currency of a country. It is used in international trade and investment.
Economic indicators are statistics that provide information about the economic performance of a country, such as GDP, unemployment rates, and inflation.
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