The U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Friday, amid concerns about the fiscal impact of the U.S. Republican tax cut bill.

UK retail sales rebounded more than expected in April as good weather boosted food store sales, official data showed on Friday. A monthly survey today showed that British consumer confidence strengthened in May on hopes of easing trade tensions and the interest rate reduction by the Bank of England. Retail sales grew 1.2 percent on a monthly basis in April, following a revised 0.1 percent rise

Retail sales from the UK and detailed quarterly national accounts from Germany are the top economic news due on Friday. At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics releases UK retail sales for April. Economists forecast retail sales to grow 0.3 percent on a monthly basis, after rising 0.4 percent in March.

Existing home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of April, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. NAR said existing home sales fell by 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.00 million in April after plunging by 5.9 percent to a rate of 4.02 million in March.

A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday unexpectedly showed a slight decline by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended May 17th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims edged down to 227,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 230,000.

The euro weakened against other major currencies in the European session on Thursday, following the release of Germany's composite output index for May.

The euro area private sector logged a renewed fall in May due to a sharp downturn in services activity, flash purchasing managers' survey compiled by S&P Global showed on Thursday. The flash composite output index fell to 49.5 in May from 50.4 in April. The score fell below the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time in five months.

German business confidence strengthened in May as companies became less concerned about uncertainties regarding trade tariffs, a closely watched survey showed Thursday. The Purchasing Managers' survey compiled by S&P Global today showed that the German private sector activity contracted the most in five months in May due to a deepening downturn in the service sector.

The Indian rupee weakened against the U.S. dollar in the European session on Thursday.

The Antipodean currencies such as the Australia and the New Zealand dollars weakened against their major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday on increased risk-off sentiment, following the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, amid rising treasury yields on concerns about the fiscal impact of a new U.S. tax bill on the country's deficit. The lack of clear progress on new trade deals is also weighing on the markets.

Flash purchasing managers' survey results from the major euro area economies and business sentiment from Germany and France are due on Thursday, headlining a hectic day for the European economic news. At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics publishes UK public sector finance data for April. The budget deficit is forecast to rise to GBP 18 billion from GBP 16.4 billion in March.