Foreign exchange market. European session: the British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar after the release of the mixed economic data from the U.K.

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

07:00 Germany Gfk Consumer Confidence Survey April 9.5 9.5 9.4

09:00 Eurozone ECB Economic Bulletin

09:30 United Kingdom BBA Mortgage Approvals February 46.9 Revised From 47.5 45.9

09:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (MoM) February 2.3% -0.7% -0.4%

09:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (YoY) February 5.4% Revised From 5.2% 3.8% 3.8%

10:15 Eurozone Targeted LTRO 18.3 24.3 7.3

11:00 United Kingdom CBI retail sales volume balance March 10 15 7

The U.S. dollar traded lower against the most major currencies ahead the release of the U.S. economic data. The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. is expected to rise by 3,000 to 268,000 last week.

The U.S. durable goods orders are expected to decrease 2.9% in February, after a 4.9% rise in January.

The U.S. durable goods orders excluding transportation are expected to fell 0.2% in February, after a 1.8% increase in January.

The euro traded mixed against the U.S. dollar after the weaker-than-expected data from the Eurozone. Market research group GfK released its consumer confidence index for Germany on Thursday. German Gfk consumer confidence index fell to 9.4 in April from 9.5 in March. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged at 9.5.

The economic expectations index declined by 2.9 points to 0.5 points in March, while the willingness to buy index fell by 2.7 points to 50.0.

The income expectations index dropped by 6.2 points to 50.5 in March.

"The weak demand for German products in certain important markets will probably not leave economic growth in Germany unaffected. A signal of this is the decline in economic expectations this month," Gfk noted.

The French statistical office Insee released its manufacturing confidence index for France on Thursday. The French manufacturing confidence index declined to 101 in March from 103 in February.

The British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar after the release of the mixed economic data from the U.K. The Office for National Statistics released its retail sales data for the U.K. on Thursday. Retail sales in the U.K. fell 0.4% in February, beating expectations for a 0.7% drop, after a 2.3% rise in January.

The decline was driven by a weak demand for clothing. Clothing and footwear sales fell 0.4% in February.

Food store sales were down 0.3% in February, while non-food store sales decreased 0.1%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the U.K. climbed 3.8% in February, in line with forecasts, after a 5.4% rise in January. January's figure was revised up from a 5.2% gain.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) released its retail sales balance data on Thursday. The CBI retail sales balance declined to +7% in March from +10% in February, missing expectations for a rise to +15%. Sales are expected to rise next month, while orders are expected to be flat.

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) released the number of mortgage approvals in the U.K. on Thursday. The number of mortgage approvals declined to 45,982 in February from 46,900 in January. January's figure was revised down from 47,509.

"Mortgage borrowing remained buoyant in February. It appears that borrowers are continuing to try to get ahead of the increases in stamp duty for buy-to-let and second home buyers scheduled to come into effect next month," the chief economist at the BBA, Richard Woolhouse, said.

EUR/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

GBP/USD: the currency pair increased to $1.4146

USD/JPY: the currency pair fell to Y112.56

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

12:15 U.S. FOMC Member James Bullard Speaks

12:30 U.S. Durable Goods Orders February 4.9% -2.9%

12:30 U.S. Durable Goods Orders ex Transportation February 1.8% -0.2%

12:30 U.S. Durable goods orders ex defense February 4.5%

12:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims March 265 268

13:00 U.S. Housing Price Index, m/m January 0.4%

13:45 U.S. Services PMI (Preliminary) March 49.7

23:30 Japan Tokyo Consumer Price Index, y/y March 0.1% 0%

23:30 Japan Tokyo CPI ex Fresh Food, y/y March -0.1% -0.2%

23:30 Japan National Consumer Price Index, y/y February 0% 0%

23:30 Japan National CPI Ex-Fresh Food, y/y February 0% 0.1%