Sterling added to big gains made Thursday after Bank of England kept interest unchanged, confounding analysts who expected the first rate cut in seven years to face off the blowout of Britain's vote to exit the European Union.

The pound rose a further 0.20% against the dollar to 1.3362, hovering near a two-week high set yesterday, while also surging half a percentage point against the yen to 141.30, touching a three-week height.

As for global stocks, Japan's Nikkei index hit a one-month high at 16,607 on expectations Japan's central bank will ease policy further to boost the morbid economy, while last trading at 16,497, up a handsome 0.70% on the day.

Crude prices returned lower on the other hand, in a week marked with sideways trading for the commodity, with U.S. crude futures down over one percent, or half a dollar at $45.16 a barrel, while Brent crude futures lost 1.27%, or 61 cents to hover around $46.67 a barrel, moving further away from the magical $50 barrier.

Traders wait for a slew of important data later, with U.S. CPI expected to rise 0.2% m/m in June, same as May's growth, while Core CPI, excluding food and energy, is also expected to keep up its 0.2% pace of growth, which would buoy the dollar modestly.

U.S. retail sales are forecast to have grown only 0.1% m/m in June, slowing down sharply from May's 0.5% sprint, which would cloud the otherwise bright outlook for the American economy.