Foreign exchange market. European session: the British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar on the better-than-expected retail sales data from the U.K.

Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

01:30 Australia Unemployment rate April 5.7% 5.8% 5.7%

01:30 Australia Changing the number of employed April 25.7 Revised From 26.1 12.5 10.8

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (YoY) April 3.0% Revised From 2.7% 2.5% 4.3%

08:30 United Kingdom Retail Sales (MoM) April -0.5% Revised From -1.3% 0.5% 1.3%

09:00 Eurozone Construction Output, y/y March 2.5% -0.5%

11:30 Eurozone ECB Monetary Policy Meeting Accounts

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the release of the U.S. economic data. The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. is expected to decline by 19,000 to 275,000 last week.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank' manufacturing index is expected to increase to 3.5 in May from -1.6 in April.

The euro traded lower against the U.S. dollar after the release of the European Central Bank's (ECB) March minutes. The ECB said that the recent stimulus measures needed time to take effect.

The Eurostat released its construction production data for the Eurozone on Thursday. Construction production in the Eurozone declined 0.9% in March, after a 0.6% fall in February. February's figure was revised up from a 1.1% drop. Civil engineering output slid 2.0% in March, while production in the building sector was down 0.8%.

On a yearly basis, construction output fell 0.5% in March, after a 3.4% gain in February. February's figure was revised up from a 2.5% increase.

The British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar on the better-than-expected retail sales 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. climbed 1.3% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 0.5% decline in March. March's figure was revised up from a 1.3% decrease.

Food sales were up 0.1% in April, while non-food store sales increased 2.5%.

On a yearly basis, retail sales in the U.K. jumped 4.3% in April, beating forecasts of a 2.5% increase, after a 3.0% rise in March. March's figure was revised up from a 2.7% gain.

The Canadian dollar traded lower against the U.S. dollar ahead of the release of the Canadian economic data. Wholesales sales in Canada are expected to decrease 0.5% in March, after a 2.2% drop in February.

EUR/USD: the currency pair declined to $1.1188

GBP/USD: the currency pair rose to $1.4661

USD/JPY: the currency pair fell to Y109.77

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

12:30 Canada Wholesale Sales, m/m March -2.2% -0.5%

12:30 U.S. Chicago Federal National Activity Index April -0.44

12:30 U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey May -1.6 3.5

12:30 U.S. Initial Jobless Claims May 294 275

14:00 U.S. Leading Indicators April 0.2% 0.4%

14:30 U.S. FOMC Member Dudley Speak