The pound fell against its major counterparts in the European session on Friday, as British construction activity expanded at the slowest pace in four months in January.

Survey results from IHS Markit showed that the construction PMI fell more-than-expected to 50.2 in January from 52.2 in December. It was expected to fall to 52.0.

Among sub-sectors, house building activity declined for the first time in seventeen months.

Meanwhile, European stocks fell for a fifth consecutive session as the U.S. government bond sell-off entered a second session on optimism over global growth and rising expectations of inflation.

The pound hit a 2-day low of 1.3189 versus the franc, after having advanced to 1.3228 at 1:30 am ET. The pound is seen finding support around the 1.30 level.

The pound retreated to 156.04 versus the yen, from its early 1-1/2-year high of 156.61. The next possible support for the pound is seen around the 153.00 level.

Data from the Bank of Japan showed that Japan's monetary base rose 9.7 percent on year in January, coming in at 477.259 trillion yen.

That follows the 11.2 percent increase in December.

Reversing from an early high of 1.4278 against the greenback, the pound weakened to 1.4202. If the pound declines further, it may target support around the 1.40 region.

The pound fell back to 0.8788 against the euro, heading to pierce its early 2-day low of 0.8791. This may be compared to a high of 0.8757 hit at 10:30 pm ET. On the downside, 0.89 is possibly seen as the next support level for the pound.

Data from Eurostat showed that Eurozone producer price inflation eased at a faster-than-expected pace in December.

Producer prices climbed 2.2 percent year-over-year in December, slower than the 2.8 percent rise in November. Economists had expected the inflation to ease to 2.3 percent.

Looking ahead, U.S. factory orders for December, nonfarm payrolls data and University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index for January are due in the New York session.

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