Cable remained buoyant against the greenback in London as the Bank of England left its benchmark rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive month, while the US Trade deficit narrowed in December.
The Bank of England cited continuing economic growth in UK and inflationary concerns as reasons fro keeping monetary policy steady. Cable bulls received another blow after the US Trade deficit narrowed to -$56.4 billion versus -$57.0 billion expected. The decrease in the deficit was attributed to a rise in exports and a drop in imported crude oil prices.
The British pound was quoted at 1.8568-73 against the dollar, .6882-85 versus the euro, and 197.35-38 against the Japanese yen at 13:15 GMT.
London stocks remained unchanged despite the barrage of mixed corporate earnings announcements from different sectors.
The FTSE 100 was almost unchanged at 4,991.2 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 traded 0.1 percent lower at 7,343.1 by 1200 GMT.
Shire Pharmaceuticals fell 12.4 percent to 562.5p after the company announced that regulators in Canada asked it to withdraw its key Adderall XR drug from the market.
GlaxoSmithKline dipped 0.6 percent to GBP12.25 as the company announced quarterly earnings and full year profits were impacted by the weakness in the US dollar.
ICI rallied 11.1 percent to 273.25p after the company announced stellar quarterly results.
Unilever fell 1.2 percent to 510p after the Anglo-Dutch consumer staples company, reported disappointing full-year results.
Rolls Royce fell 3.1 percent to 263p despite better than expected quarterly results and raising its full year guidance.
De Vere rallied 11.2 percent to 557p after the hotel group announced plans to sell the De Vere Belfry for GBP186m to Quinn and redistribute the proceeds to the shareholders via special one time dividend.
Hilton Group rose 2.8 percent to 316.5p on an analyst upgrade.
UK Gilts fell as the traders speculated that the Bank of England might keep its rate unchanged for the rest of the year. UK Long Gilt fell .11 to 102.19, pushing the yields up by 1 basis point to 4.49 percent. Long Gilt futures contract for March delivery fell 0.05 to 112.03.