Sterling briefly jumped above $1.41 today after strong UK employment data helped the pound extend a recent rally.
The pound's recent gains have been driven by growing optimism that Britain will have a relatively smooth exit from the European Union and broad dollar weakness.
Sterling is the second best performer of the G10 currencies this year, and has over the past week notched up a series of fresh highs since the vote to exit the EU in June 2016.
Market analysts said the labour data had helped the pound, although dollar weakness and broader positive sentiment for sterling were behind most of Wednesday's gains.
Official data showed that UK employment surged to a record high and regular wages rose at their fastest rate in almost a year.
Sterling rose as high as $1.4118 after the employment data, up 0.8% on the day before slipping back to trade at $1.4089 in later trade, roughly where it was before the data was released.
The pound also hit a six-week high of 87.54 pence per euro.
Brexit minister David Davis said today that he expects Britain and the European Union will agree to a transition deal on exiting the bloc by the end of March.
With traders believing that the risks of a disorderly exit from the EU are receding, investors are looking for signs the Bank of England could hike interest rates more than the single raise this year that the market has currently priced.
Interest rate expectations moved up slightly after today's employment data, analysts said, given the Bank of England is watching for signs of pay growth before raising rates again.
Against the currencies of its biggest trading partners, sterling is at its highest level since the middle of 2017, but remains far below levels seen before the Brexit vote.
