Foreign exchange market. European session: the British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the release of the Bank of England’s Inflation Letter

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

01:30 Australia Wage Price Index, y/y Quarter I 2.5% 2.4% 2.3%

01:30 Australia Wage Price Index, q/q Quarter I 0.6% 0.6% 0.5%

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Outlook March 53.2 54.2

05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey: Current April 52.2 52.1 53.6

05:30 China Industrial Production y/y April 5.6% 6.0% 5.9%

05:30 China Retail Sales y/y April 10.2% 10.5% 10.0%

05:30 China Fixed Asset Investment March 13.5% 13.5% 12.0%

05:30 France GDP, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.0% Revised From 0.1% 0.4% 0.6%

05:30 France GDP, Y/Y (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.2% 0.7%

06:00 Germany CPI, m/m (Finally) April -0.1% Revised From 0.5% -0.1% 0.0%

06:00 Germany CPI, y/y (Finally) April 0.3% 0.4% 0.5%

06:00 Germany GDP (YoY) (Preliminary) Quarter I 1.6% 1.2% 1.1%

06:00 Germany GDP (QoQ) (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.7% 0.5% 0.3%

06:45 France CPI, m/m April 0.7% 0.2% 0.1%

06:45 France CPI, y/y April -0.1% 0.1%

08:30 United Kingdom Average earnings ex bonuses, 3 m/y March 1.9% Revised From 1.8% 2.1% 2.2%

08:30 United Kingdom Average Earnings, 3m/y March 1.7% 1.7% 1.9%

08:30 United Kingdom Claimant count April -16.7 Revised From -20.7 -20.0 -12.6

08:30 United Kingdom ILO Unemployment Rate March 5.6% 5.5% 5.5%

09:00 Eurozone Industrial Production (YoY) March 1.9% Revised From 1.6% 1.8% 1.8%

09:00 Eurozone Industrial production, (MoM) March 1.0% Revised From 1.1% 0.0% -0.3%

09:00 Eurozone GDP (QoQ) (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.3% 0.5% 0.4%

09:00 Eurozone GDP (YoY) (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.9% 1.1% 1.0%

09:30 United Kingdom BOE Inflation Letter

09:30 United Kingdom BOE Gov Mark Carney Speaks

11:00 U.S. MBA Mortgage Applications May -4.6% -3.5%

11:30 Eurozone ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the U.S. retail sales data. The U.S. retail sales are expected to rise 0.2% in April, after a 0.9% gain in March.

Retail sales excluding automobiles are expected to climb 0.5% in April, after a 0.4% increase in March.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the mixed economic data from the Eurozone. Eurozone's preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.4% in the first quarter, missing expectations for a 0.5% rise, after a 0.3% gain in the fourth quarter.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's preliminary GDP rose by 1.0% in the first quarter, missing expectations for a 1.1% increase, after a 0.9% gain in the fourth quarter.

Industrial production in the Eurozone fell 0.3% in March, missing expectations for a flat reading, after a 1.0% rise in February. February's figure was revised down from a 1.1% increase.

The decline was driven by a drop in production of energy, which fell 1.7% in March.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's industrial production gained 1.8% in March, in line with expectations, after a 1.9% increase in February. February's figure was revised up from a 1.6 gain.

The increase was driven by a rise in non-durable consumer goods and in production of energy.

Germany's preliminary GDP gained by 0.3% in the first quarter, missing expectations for a 0.5% rise, after a 0.7% increase in the fourth quarter. The weak growth was driven by lower exports.

France's preliminary GDP increased by 0.6% in the first quarter, beating forecasts of a 0.4% rise, after a flat reading in the previous quarter.

The Greek debt problem still weighs on markets. Greece yesterday repaid €750 million in loans to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to Reuters, the Greek government used emergency reserves in its holding account with the IMF to repay loans.

The British pound traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the release of the Bank of England's (BoE) Inflation Letter. The BoE lowered its economic growth forecasts. The forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2015 was cut to 2.4%, down from 2.9% three months ago. The GDP growth forecasts for 2016 and 2017 were lowered to 2.6% and 2.4% respectively.

The BoE Governor Mark Carney said that the consumer price inflation could turn negative, but it is expected to rise towards the end of the year.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released its labour market data on Wednesday. The U.K. unemployment rate fell to 5.5% in the January to March quarter from 5.7% in the October to December quarter, in line with expectations.

It was the lowest level since 2008.

The claimant count decreased by 12,600 people in April, missing expectations for a drop by 20,000, after a decrease of 16,700 people in March. It was the smallest monthly decline since March 2013.

March's figure was revised down from a decline of 20,700.

Average weekly earnings, excluding bonuses, climbed by 2.2% in the January to March quarter, exceeding expectations for a rise by 2.1%, after a 1.9% gain in the October to December quarter.

Average weekly earnings, including bonuses, rose by 1.9% in the January to March quarter, exceeding expectations for a gain of 1.7%, after a 1.7% increase in the October to December quarter.

EUR/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.1201

GBP/USD: the currency pair decreased to $1.5632

USD/JPY: the currency pair declined to Y119.69

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

12:30 U.S. Retail sales excluding auto May 0.4% 0.5%

12:30 U.S. Retail sales April 0.9% 0.2%

22:45 New Zealand Retail Sales, q/q Quarter I 1.4% 1.5%

22:45 New Zealand Retail Sales YoY Quarter I 5.9% 4.9%

23:50 Japan GDP, y/y (Preliminary) Quarter I 1.5%

23:50 Japan GDP, q/q (Preliminary) Quarter I 0.4%