• EUR/JPY extends its downside to 158.84 after the German data.
• The annual German Retail Sales declined 2.2% in July, compared to an expected 1.0% drop.
• Japanese Retail Sales rose by 6.8% YoY in July versus 5.6% prior, better than the expectation of 5.4%.
• Investors await the German Unemployment Rate, Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) data.

The EUR/JPY cross faces some selling pressure and drops sharply below the 159.00 area following the release of German Retail Sales.  At the time of writing, the EUR/JPY is losing 0.55% on the day to trade at 158.84.

The recent data released by Destatis on Thursday showed German Retail Sales dropped 0.8% MoM in July, compared to 0.3% expected and -0.8% previously. Annually, the bloc's Retail Sales declined 2.2% in July, compared to an expected decrease of 1.0% and a reading of -1.6% in June. The Euro loses momentum against the Japanese Yen following the data.

On the Japanese Yen front, Bank of Japan (BoJ) Board member Toyoaki Nakamura stated on Thursday that policymakers need more time to transition to monetary tightening. The data from the Japanese docket showed that Retail Sales rose by 6.8% YoY in July versus 5.6% prior, better than the expectation of 5.4%. While, Industrial Production dropped by 2.0% MoM in July from a rise of 2.4% in the previous month, compared to market consensus of a 1.4% drop.

Looking ahead, the German Unemployment Rate and Eurozone Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices for August will be released later in the day. Also, the European Central Bank (ECB) policymaker Isabel Schnabel's speech could offer hints about further monetary policy. Traders will take cues from these figures and find trading opportunities around the EUR/JPY cross.