Economic calendar (GMT0):

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

06:00 Japan Prelim Machine Tool Orders, y/y December +36.6% +33.8%

07:45 France CPI, m/m December -0.2% 0.0% +0.1%

07:45 France CPI, y/y December +0.3% -0.1% +0.1%

09:30 Eurozone European Court of Justice Ruling for OMT

10:00 Eurozone Industrial production, (MoM) November +0.3% Revised From +0.1% 0.0% +0.2%

10:00 Eurozone Industrial Production (YoY) November +0.8% Revised From +0.7% -0.9% -0.4%

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against the most major currencies ahead of the U.S. economic data. The U.S. retail sales are expected to rise 0.2% in December, after a 0.7% increase in November.

Retail sales excluding automobiles are expected to climbs 0.1% in December, after a 0.5% rise in November.

The U.S. business inventories are expected to rise 0.2% in November, after a 0.2% gain in October.

The greenback remained supported by falling oil prices.

The euro declined against the U.S. dollar after the ruling of European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Wednesday. The ECJ said that Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) bond-buying programme was legitimate and in line with monetary policy. The opinion was non-binding. A final decision is expected in the next six months.

The OMT programme was has been announced in September 2012. The programme allows the ECB to purchase government bonds of Eurozone members if they request help. The OMT programme has never been used.

The opinion by the ECJ probably paved the way for the launch of bond-buying programme by the European Central Bank.

The European Central Bank President Mario Draghi in an interview to the German newspaper Die Zeit released on January 14, 2015 that "all members of the Governing Council of the ECB are determined to fulfil our mandate". He added that the ECB's options were limited.

Industrial production in the Eurozone rose 0.2% in November, exceeding expectations for a flat reading, after a 0.3% rise in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.1 increase.

On a yearly basis, Eurozone's industrial production fell 0.4% in November, beating expectations for a 0.9% drop, after a 0.8% gain in October. October's figure was revised up from a 0.7 increase.

The British pound traded higher against the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major economic reports from the U.K.

EUR/USD: the currency pair fell to $1.1726

GBP/USD: the currency pair traded mixed

USD/JPY: the currency pair declined to Y116.53

The most important news that are expected (GMT0):

13:30 U.S. Retail sales December +0.7% +0.2%

13:30 U.S. Retail sales excluding auto December +0.5% +0.1%

13:30 U.S. Import Price Index December -1.5% -2.7%

15:00 U.S. Business inventories November +0.2% +0.2%

19:00 U.S. Fed's Beige Book