Foreign exchange market. European session: the euro fell against the U.S. dollar after the mostly weak economic data from the Eurozone

Economic calendar (GMT0):

(Time/ Region/ Event/ Period/ Previous/ Forecast/ Actual)

00:30 Australia Building Permits, m/m November +11.5% Revised From +11.4% -2.7% +7.5%

00:30 Australia Building Permits, y/y November +2.5% +10.1%

07:00 Germany Factory Orders s.a. (MoM) November +2.9% Revised From +2.5% -0.6% -2.4%

07:00 Germany Factory Orders n.s.a. (YoY) November +2.6% Revised From +2.4% -0.4%

08:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index December +0.5% +0.3% +0.9%

08:00 United Kingdom Halifax house price index 3m Y/Y December +8.1% +7.8%

10:00 Eurozone Producer Price Index, MoM November -0.3% Revised From -0.4% -0.2% -0.3%

10:00 Eurozone Producer Price Index (YoY) November -1.3% -1.6%

10:00 Eurozone Business climate indicator December 0.18 0.18

10:00 Eurozone Industrial confidence December -4.3 Revised From -5.1 -5.2

10:00 Eurozone Economic sentiment index December 100.7 100.7

10:00 Eurozone Retail Sales (MoM) November +0.6% Revised From +0.4% +0.3% +0.6%

10:00 Eurozone Retail Sales (YoY) November +1.6% Revised From +1.4% +1.1% +1.5%

12:00 United Kingdom BoE Interest Rate Decision 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%

12:00 United Kingdom Asset Purchase Facility 375 375 375

12:00 United Kingdom MPC Rate Statement

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the number of initial jobless claims from the U.S. The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. is expected to decline by 7,000 to 291,000.

The greenback remained supported by yesterday's ADP labour market data. Private sector in the U.S. added 241,000 jobs in December, according the ADP report on Wednesday.

The Fed released minutes of its December 16-17 meeting on Wednesday. Minutes showed that the Fed is unlikely to hike its interest rate before April.

The euro fell against the U.S. dollar after the mostly weak economic data from the Eurozone. German seasonal adjusted factory orders dropped 2.4% in November, missing expectations for a 0.6% decline, after a 2.9% increase in October. October's figure was revised up from a 2.5% gain.

That was the first decline in three months.

Domestic orders plunged 4.7% in November, while foreign orders fell 0.7%.

Retail sales in the Eurozone rose 0.6% in November, exceeding expectations for a 0.3% increase, after a 0.6% gain in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.4% rise.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the Eurozone surged 1.5% in November, beating expectations for a 1.1% gain, after a 1.6% increase in October. October's figure was revised up from a 1.4% gain.

Eurozone's producer price index fell 0.3% in November, missing expectations for a 0.2% decrease, after a 0.3% drop in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.4% decline.

Political uncertainty in Greece still weighed on the euro.

The British pound traded mixed against the U.S. dollar after the Bank of England's (BoE) interest rate decision. The BoE kept its interest rates unchanged at 0.5% and its asset purchase program unchanged at £375 billion. This decision was widely expected.

Analysts expect that the BoE will start to raise interest rate later this year. But the central bank might delay its interest rate hike because of low inflation and a slowdown of the economic growth in the Eurozone. The wage growth in the U.K. remained under pressure despite the growth in the three months to October.

The recent released UK's manufacturing, services and construction sectors' economic reports showed a slowdown in these sectors.

The Halifax house price index for the U.K. rose 0.9% in December, beating forecasts for a 0.3% gain, after a 0.5% increase in November. November's figure was revised up from a 0.4% rise.

On a yearly basis, the Halifax house price index for the U.K. climbed 7.8% in December, after a 8.1% rise in November. November's figure was revised down from a 8.2% gain.

The Canadian dollar traded higher against the U.S. dollar ahead of Canadian new housing price index. Canada's new housing price index is expected to rise 0.2% in November, after a 0.1% gain in October.

EUR/USD: the currency pair declined to $1.1753

GBP/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

USD/JPY: the currency pair traded mixed

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

13:30 Canada New Housing Price Index November +0.1% +0.2%

13:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims December 298 291

21:45 New Zealand Building Permits, m/m November +8.8%