Pound Slides Amid Risk Aversion

The pound slipped against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Thursday amid rising risk aversion, as traders remain skeptical about U.S. President Donald Trump's approach to foreign policy and trade.

Trade worries continue to linger after top U.S. economic advisor Larry Kudlow said the Trump administration has no intention of backing down from the current China situation.

Kudlow's comments sparked concerns that foreign investment in the tech sector may be strangled. Investors focus on a 2-day EU summit beginning in Brussels today, where migration challenges are the main agenda.

Economic confidence figures from euro area and consumer price data from Germany are due later in the day.

The pound dropped to 1.3044 against the Swiss franc, its weakest since March 7. If the pound continues its fall, 1.27 is possibly seen as its next support level.

The U.K. currency weakened to 1.3067 against the greenback, a level unseen since November 2017. Next key support for the pound is likely seen around the 1.29 level.

The pound slipped to a 4-week low of 144.18 against the yen, after having advanced to 144.68 at 7:30 pm ET. The pound is seen challenging support around the 143.00 area.

Figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's retail sales declined sharply in May signaling weak consumer spending.

Retail sales decreased 1.7 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a 1.3 percent rise in April. Sales were expected to decline moderately by 0.8 percent.

The pound hit a 3-week low of 0.8838 against the euro, from a high of 0.8805 seen at 5:15 pm ET. The next likely support for the pound is seen around the 0.90 area.

Looking ahead, Eurozone economic sentiment index for June is due in the European session.

At 8:00 am ET, German preliminary CPI for June is due.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended June 23 and final estimate of GDP data for the first quarter are scheduled for release.