The monetary policy announcement from the Bank of England is the only major event due on an otherwise light day for European economic news. The nine-member monetary policy committee of the BoE is widely expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive meeting. At 5.25 percent, the current Bank Rate is the highest since early 2008.

South Korea had a current account surplus of $6.93 billion in March, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday.

The U.S. dollar gained some ground against its major counterparts on Wednesday with traders assessing the likely move of the Federal Reserve with regard to interest rates, after recent economic data and hawkish comments from some Fed officials.

The Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing a pullback by U.S. wholesale inventories in the month of March. The report said wholesale inventories fell by 0.4 percent in March after rising by 0.2 percent in February. The decrease by wholesale inventories matched economist estimates.

Sweden's central bank lowered its policy rate for the first time in eight years and signaled another two more rate reductions during the second half of the year as inflation approaches the target of around 2 percent amid the weak economic activity. The executive board of the Riksbank, led by Governor Erik Thedeen, decided to lower the policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.75 percent.

Germany's industrial production declined for the first time in three months in March driven by the decreases in consumer and intermediate goods output, official data revealed Wednesday. Industrial production declined 0.4 percent on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 1.7 percent increase in February, Destatis reported.

Industrial production from Germany is the top economic news due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany's industrial production data for March. Output is expected to fall 0.6 percent on month, in contrast to the 2.1 percent rise in February.

The U.S. dollar rebounded from recent weakness on Tuesday, supported by hawkish comments from a few Fed officials, including Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari.

Germany's exports rebounded at a faster-than-expected pace in March, while industrial orders declined unexpectedly on weak domestic demand, pouring cold water on hopes of better economic recovery. Exports gained 0.9 percent on a monthly basis, reversing a 1.6 percent fall in February, which was revised from a 0.2 percent gain reported initially, Destatis said Tuesday. Shipments were forecast to

The Reserve Bank of Australia left its benchmark interest rates unchanged at a 12-year high for a fourth straight meeting, as widely expected, on Tuesday. The policy board of the RBA, led by Governor Michele Bullock, decided to maintain the cash rate target at 4.35 percent. The board also retained the interest rate paid on Exchange Settlement balances at 4.25 percent.

UK house prices rose only marginally in April as rising interest rate expectations weighed on the property market, data published by the mortgage lender Halifax showed on Tuesday. House prices posted a monthly increase of 0.1 percent in April, which was weaker than the expected 0.2 percent growth. However, this was in contrast to the 0.9 percent fall in March.

Factory orders and foreign trade figures from Germany and house prices from the UK are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany's factory orders and external trade data. Orders are forecast to expand at a pace of 0.4 percent in March after a 0.2 percent gain in February. The trade surplus is expected to increase to