The British pound slipped near a two-week low against the dollar on Friday after comments from the Bank of England chief and weak U.K. retail sales data, with the yen easing as risk sentiment was recovering.
Concerns over issues ranging from U.S. trade policies to North Korea and Syria kept many forex investors on the side lines, with EUR/USD and USD/JPY possibly posting their narrowest weekly range in months.
Bank of England Governor Mark Carney cooled off widespread expectations for an interest rate hike in May on Thursday, pointing out there were also "other meetings" this year.
Sluggish U.K. retail sales published earlier on Thursday also raised some doubts about the outlook for UK rate hikes. GBP/USD fell extended its low to 1.4035 on Friday. EUR/GBP rose to 0.87905, a three-week low for the pound.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.2330, having slumped a quarter percentage point the previous day but still confined with its well-worn range.
