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Jumping around now: doesn't "I'm fine" sound like they're not fine? To me when I hear it, it sounds more like I shouldn't have asked. Sorry to have bothered you with my hello.
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I think some people use "I'm fine, thank you," to say "No," in an indirect way.
When I was in the States, one of my classmates, a N.American, told me a funny story about "I'm fine, thank you,":
He was asked by an older man if he wanted some more drink. Instead of saying, "No, thank you," he said, "I'm fine, thank you." (Perhaps with some sort of a body language -- he didn't say. I've heard people reply like this at least a several times near Chicago.)
To this, the older man responded, "I didn ask you how you were doing."
My two mites.
