Sterling hit a two-week high against the dollar on Monday and gained one percent versus the yen as the greenback and the Japanese currency fell victim to global security concerns.
The pound also hit a two-week high on the euro, drawing strength from expectations of higher interest rates in Britain in a session with no British data to give clues on the state of the economy.
The dollar fell, global stocks slid and gold rose as the assassination of a Hamas spiritual leader raised geopolitical concerns, already heightened after the Madrid bombs less than two weeks ago. An uncertain political situation in Taiwan also weighed on Asian currencies.
By 1450 GMT sterling had risen to 66.85 pence, after closing at 66.91 on Friday. Against the dollar it had risen to $1.8471, compared with $1.8310 in late New York on Friday. The pound gained two yen to 197.88.
Sterling's trade-weighted index, which has a euro weighting of 64.82 percent, a dollar weighting of 16.49 percent and a yen one of 7.0 percent, also rose to a two-week high.