Sterling rose on Monday as markets focused on upcoming UK economic data due later this week, while geopolitical concerns were stirred by US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Europe over Greenland.

The pound gained 0.16% to $1.3402, after ending last week down 0.13%.

The euro was little changed against sterling at 86.75 pence.

Kit Juckes, chief FX strategist at Société Générale, said the pound has performed relatively well since the start of the year, but warned that the move may be nearing its limits as fresh economic data comes into focus.

“The idea that the UK economy is doing well is not, I think, clearly priced by anyone,” Juckes said, adding that investors would nevertheless be watching some of the upcoming data with concern.

He added that sterling’s rise against the euro appears to be close to its ceiling, suggesting that the currency may start to lose momentum.

Since the start of the year, sterling has fallen about 0.5% against the dollar, while rising by a similar amount against the euro.

In the days ahead, investors are awaiting UK employment data for November, as well as inflation and retail sales figures for December.

Over the weekend, Trump said additional tariffs of 10% would be imposed from February 1 on goods imported from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Britain, until the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday called for calm discussions over Greenland, while European allies moved quickly to try to avert additional tariffs, even as they prepared possible retaliatory measures.

The US dollar weakened broadly on Monday, as investors shifted funds away from US assets.

Juckes said the geopolitical backdrop is clearly playing a role, though markets are not yet fully immersed in it. He added that while reacting to UK data, sterling would still keep “at least one eye on the wider world.”

That wider focus also includes Trump’s expected appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, where investors are expected to scrutinize any remarks made by the US president.

Bitcoin fell during Asian trading on Monday, trimming the recovery gains it posted last week, after tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on major European countries over the Greenland dispute rattled risk sentiment across markets.

Other cryptocurrencies also declined in tandem with Bitcoin, as several tokens came under profit-taking pressure following modest gains last week.

Bitcoin dropped 2.8% to $92,519.6 by 00:56 US Eastern Time (05:56 GMT). The world’s largest cryptocurrency had risen about 5% last week, but has now slipped back below the peak levels reached during that period.

Market sentiment was also weighed down by the postponement of a long-anticipated bill aimed at establishing a US regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry, after lawmakers delayed discussions following objections from several industry players, most notably Coinbase.

Trump’s Greenland tariffs hit risk appetite and drag Bitcoin lower

Trump said he would impose tariffs of up to 25% on imports from several major European countries, including Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom, until an agreement is reached allowing Washington to take control of Greenland.

The demands were met with widespread rejection from European leaders, while France is seen as preparing retaliatory economic measures against the United States.

These developments triggered sharp losses across global risk-dependent markets, amid fears of a potential fracture within NATO and concerns that the United States could take more direct steps to assert control over Greenland.

Trump, who has long pushed for annexing Greenland on national security grounds, also revived the possibility of military action in the Danish territory. Such threats are now being taken more seriously, particularly after US military intervention in Venezuela earlier in 2026.

While trade tariffs and geopolitical tensions do not directly impact cryptocurrencies, they tend to erode the risk appetite needed to invest in speculative assets. Trump’s tariff threats throughout 2025 had already triggered repeated bouts of risk aversion across digital asset markets.

Heightened risk aversion has also pushed traders toward physical safe havens such as gold, at the expense of cryptocurrencies.

Crypto liquidations near $900 million as Bitcoin leads the slide

Cryptocurrency markets saw liquidations worth $869.5 million over the past 24 hours, as caution deepened following Trump’s tariff moves.

Long positions accounted for the bulk of the liquidations, with Bitcoin positions worth about $229.5 million wiped out, according to data from Coinglass. Ethereum and Solana also saw liquidations of roughly $154.6 million and $60.5 million, respectively.

Losses over the weekend largely erased the limited recovery seen in crypto markets last week, highlighting the continued fragility of sentiment toward the sector.

Cryptocurrency prices today: altcoins extend losses alongside Bitcoin

Other cryptocurrencies mostly moved lower on Monday, tracking Bitcoin’s decline.

Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, fell 3.5% to $3,199.06, while XRP slid 4.7%, dropping below the $2 level.

Oil prices fell on Monday as civil unrest in Iran eased, reducing the likelihood of a US attack that could disrupt supplies from the major producer, while markets also kept a close eye on escalating tensions over Greenland.

Brent crude was trading at $63.79 per barrel by 12:39 GMT, down 40 cents, or 0.62%.

US West Texas Intermediate crude for February fell by 44 cents, or about 0.74%, to $59.00 per barrel. The February contract expires on Tuesday, while the more active March contract was trading at $58.98 per barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.61%.

Yaniv Shah, an analyst at Rystad Energy, said: “As concerns over Iran have faded in recent days following rumors of a US attack, the market is now focusing on the situation around Greenland and the potential depth of any dispute between the United States and Europe, as any escalation into a trade war could affect demand.”

A violent crackdown by Iranian authorities has suppressed protests that officials say have resulted in 5,000 deaths, while US President Donald Trump appeared to step back from earlier threats of intervention.

An EU spokesperson said on Monday that European leaders will meet in Brussels on Thursday for an emergency summit, following Trump’s threats to impose new tariffs on several European Union countries over his demand to take control of Greenland.

On Saturday, Trump said European imports would face tariffs until the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland, further escalating the dispute over the future of the vast Arctic island, which belongs to Denmark.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, added that markets are also watching the risk of damage to Russian infrastructure and distillate fuel supplies. At the same time, forecasts point to colder weather ahead in North America and Europe, which — alongside concerns related to Iran — is keeping markets on edge.

US markets are closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Separately, Kazakhstan oil producer Tengizchevroil, led by Chevron, said on Monday it had temporarily halted production as a precaution at the Tengiz and Korolev oil fields following an issue affecting power distribution systems.

The US dollar fell on Monday as investors, unnerved by the latest tariff threats issued by US President Donald Trump against Europe over Greenland, rushed to buy the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc in a broad risk-off move across markets.

Over the weekend, Trump said he would impose additional tariffs of 10% starting February 1 on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Britain, until the United States is allowed to purchase Greenland.

European Union ambassadors agreed on Sunday to step up efforts to dissuade Trump from imposing the tariffs, while at the same time preparing retaliatory measures should the tariffs go ahead, according to EU diplomats.

After briefly dipping in overnight trading, European currencies rebounded, including the euro, sterling, and Nordic currencies. The Swiss franc, a traditional safe haven, was also on track for its biggest daily gain against the dollar in a month.

Euro benefits from dollar aversion

The euro reversed course from early Asian trading to rise 0.2% to $1.1627 by mid-morning European trade, while sterling recovered in a similar fashion, up 0.1% to $1.339.

Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ, said that tariff threats would normally be expected to weaken the euro.

“But as we also saw last year, when so-called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were imposed, the impact in foreign exchange markets actually tended to be dollar weakness whenever US policy uncertainty increased,” he added.

Investors had previously dumped the dollar after Trump unveiled sweeping global tariffs in April, triggering a crisis of confidence in US assets.

Although some capital shifted out of the dollar on Monday — most notably into the Swiss franc as a safe haven — analysts said that a sharper escalation in tensions would likely drive investors back toward the US currency.

Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank, said it was understandable for markets to be concerned about the dollar’s slide since April, but warned against assuming that the dollar’s safe-haven status had ended.

“Even if investors outside the US decide to pull money out, where will they go?” she said. “Other markets are not large enough to absorb it. The sheer size of the US market means there is always a safe-haven value attached to US assets.”

Yen remains in intervention territory

The dollar fell 0.5% on the day against the Swiss franc to 0.7982, while edging slightly lower against the Japanese yen, another non-US safe haven, to 158.055 yen.

Domestic politics in Japan have weighed on the yen in recent weeks, as the prospect of an early election has raised expectations of additional fiscal stimulus. With the yen trading near its weakest levels since mid-2024, the risk of official intervention has increased, particularly following verbal warnings from Tokyo over the past two weeks.

Derek Halpenny, head of global markets research for EMEA at MUFG, said in a note that the bank remained sceptical about the ability of intervention to succeed on a sustained basis without supportive fundamentals.

“The moves in the yen today are certainly more limited,” he added.

Cryptocurrencies, often seen as a gauge of risk appetite, declined, with Bitcoin down about 3% at $92,740, while Ethereum fell more than 4% to $3,205.

Data released on Monday showed that China’s economy grew by 5.0% last year, meeting the government’s target, helped by a record share of global goods demand that offset weak domestic consumption.

The yuan in onshore trading rose to a 32-month high of 6.9630 per dollar, shrugging off mixed data, after China’s central bank set its strongest daily fixing in more than two years.