Currency news / January 20, 2026

USD sell off continues

3 min read Thanim Islam

Thanim IslamJanuary 20, 2026

Market snapshot:

Tariff jitters still rattling markets
GBP unmoved on mixed job signal

Yesterday's currency recap

Risk-off trading continued into the European close with markets seeking the safefy of CHF over USD.

Ahead of job data this morning and CPI numbers out tomorrow, GBP trading was mixed.

CAD movements were at a minimum despite year-on-year inflation numbers rising more than expected to 2.4%, with markets still pricing a 75% chance of seeing one rate hike this year.

Today's GBP rates

Currency pair	Daily move*	Indicative rate**
GBPAUD	-0.10%	2.0005
GBPCAD	-0.05%	1.8617
GBPCHF	-0.35%	1.0706
GBPDKK	0.05%	8.6178
GBPEUR	0.05%	1.1535
GBPJPY	0.38%	212.375
GBPNOK	0.01%	13.5083
GBPNZD	-0.40%	2.3183
GBPSEK	0.25%	12.3675
GBPUSD	0.37%	1.3431

*Daily move - against G10 rates as of 06:00 GMT, 20.01.26
** Indicative rates - interbank rates as of 06:00 GMT, 20.01.26

What we think

UK jobs data delivered mixed signals this morning. The unemployment rate held at 5.1% as expected. Wage growth came in slightly firmer than forecast, while payroll employment fell by more than anticipated in December. Markets largely shrugged it off, still pricing in 41bp worth of cuts this year. Next up for the UK is tomorrow's inflation numbers.

USD is extending its decline, falling alongside US equity futures and long-dated Treasuries. Despite heavy selling in Japanese government bonds (JGBs), JPY has recovered most of its earlier losses versus the USD, pointing to broader USD weakness rather than a JPY-specific move.

It remains unclear how much of the pressure on US assets is driven by renewed Trump tariff threats versus the sharp sell-off in JGBs. Rising Japanese yields may be prompting capital repatriation, adding to the strain on US assets and USD.

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