Foreign exchange market. European session: the euro declined against the U.S. dollar after weak French industrial production figures

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

03:30 Australia Home Loans February -1.7% Revised From -3.5% 3.1% +1.2%

03:30 China PPI y/y March -4.8% -4.7% -4.6%

03:30 China CPI y/y March 1.4% 1.3% 1.4%

04:00 China New Loans March 1020 1050

07:45 Switzerland Unemployment Rate (non s.a.) March 3.5% 3.5% 3.4%

08:45 France Industrial Production, m/m February 0.3% Revised From 0.4% -0.1% 0.0%

08:45 France Industrial Production, y/y February 0.6% 0.3%

10:30 United Kingdom Industrial Production (MoM) February -0.1% 0.3% 0.1%

10:30 United Kingdom Industrial Production (YoY) February 1.2% Revised From 1.3% 0.3% 0.1%

10:30 United Kingdom Manufacturing Production (MoM) February -0.6% Revised From -0.5% 0.4% 0.4%

10:30 United Kingdom Manufacturing Production (YoY) February 1.7% Revised From 1.9% 1.3% 1.1%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed to higher against the most major currencies ahead of the U.S. import price index. The index is expected to decline 0.4% in March, after a 0.4% gain in February.

The greenback was supported by the speculation the Fed could start to hike its interest rate in June.

The euro declined against the U.S. dollar after weak French industrial production figures. Industrial production in France was flat in February, beating expectations for a 0.1% decline, after a 0.3% rise in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.4% increase.

On a yearly basis, the French industrial production rose 0.3% in February, after a 0.6% gain in January.

Concerns over Greece's debt problems continue to weigh on the euro. Greece repaid the International Monetary Fund (IMF) tranche of 448 million euros on Thursday.

The British pound dropped against the U.S. dollar after the mostly weaker-than-expected U.K. manufacturing production data. Manufacturing production in the U.K. rose 0.4% in February, in line with expectations, after a 0.6% decline in January. January's figure was revised down from a 0.5% decrease.

On a yearly basis, manufacturing production in the U.K. increased 1.1% in February, missing expectations for a 1.3% gain, after a 1.7% rise in January. January's figure was revised down from a 1.9% gain.

Industrial production in the U.K. climbed 0.1% in February, missing forecasts of a 0.3% rise, after a 0.1% decline in January.

On a yearly basis, industrial production in the U.K. gained 0.1% in February, missing expectations for a 0.3% rise, after a 1.2% increase in January. January's figure was revised down from a 1.3% rise.

The Canadian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar ahead of the Canadian labour market data. The unemployment rate in Canada is expected to remain unchanged at 6.8% in March.

Canada's economy is expected to add 100 jobs in March.

EUR/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.0573

GBP/USD: the currency pair decreased to $1.4590

USD/JPY: the currency pair traded mixed

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

14:30 Canada Employment March -1.0 0.1

14:30 Canada Unemployment rate March 6.8% 6.8%

14:30 U.S. FOMC Member Laсker Speaks

14:30 U.S. Import Price Index March 0.4% -0.4%

16:00 United Kingdom NIESR GDP Estimate March 0.6%