The British pound rose today, Monday, to close to its highest level in 3 years above $ 1.40 ahead of the announcement of plans to ease the general isolation measures, at a time when investors are betting that an effective distribution of "Covid-19" vaccines in the United Kingdom will bring an economic recovery.
The sterling reached its highest level since April 2018, when it crossed the $ 1.40 barrier on Friday.
It has also recorded a 2.6% gain against the US currency since the beginning of 2021, and its rapid gains have led to talk of a possible correction.
By 14:00 GMT, the pound was up 0.20% against the greenback at $ 1.4044.
Against the European currency, the pound rose 0.1% to 86.48 pence per euro, after touching earlier in the session its highest level in a year.
Bitcoin retracts
Meanwhile, bitcoin fell today after rising to an all-time high the previous day, as selling in global stocks hampered risk appetite.
Bitcoin dropped 8% to less than $ 53,000, making it heading to its worst day in a month.
And the last decline of this most popular cryptocurrency in the world was by 7.5%, to 53,177 dollars.
Bitcoin jumped to a record high of $ 58,354 yesterday, and it rose early this week to record levels, to nearly double its value since the beginning of the year.
Its market value reached a trillion dollars on Friday.
Competitor cryptocurrency Ethereum also fell after hitting a record high on Saturday.
It was most recently traded, down 8.7%, at $ 1756.