LONDON: Sterling hit its highest level against the dollar since the start of the year on Tuesday, having posted its biggest one-day rise since 2008 in the previous session, as worries that Britain could vote to leave the European Union on Thursday ebbed.
Two opinion polls on Monday suggested that the "Remain" camp had recovered some ground ahead of Thursday's referendum on EU membership, following the murder of a pro-EU lawmaker.
And though a third poll put those wanting to leave ahead by a whisker, bookmakers and betting exchanges - watched closely by investors - now put the chances of a "Brexit" at around 24 percent, down from 40 percent just five days ago.
Having surged 2.1 percent on Monday, sterling jumped another 0.8 percent on Tuesday to $1.4788, its highest since January 4 - the first trading day of the year.
That left sterling up around 0.4 percent on the year versus the greenback, and around 7 percent up from a seven-year low hit in February.
Against the euro, the pound climbed 0.3 percent to hit a three-week high of 76.95 pence, having also recorded its biggest daily rise since 2009 against the single currency on Monday.
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