Sterling continued its rally against the US, boosted by optimism about Britain's economic recovery.
The pound reached a six-month high of $1.5952, or 0.4% up from Monday.
The jump was fuelled yesterday by strong profits from HSBC, which also posted a drop in bad loans. The UK manufacturing PMI also came higher than expected, indicating that factories have stepped up production, following the two-year economic slowdown.
"The UK election and emergency budget are behind us and GDP growth in the second quarter was 1.1%, much stronger than expected and in contrast to some weak US numbers," said Barclays Capital in a note to investors.
