The pound declined against its major opponents in the early European session on Thursday, after a data showed that the UK service sector expanded at the weakest pace since July 2016 due to bad weather.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed that the IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index fell more-than-expected to 51.7 in March from 54.5 in February.

The score was forecast to drop to 54.0.

Meanwhile, European shares rose on easing trade war fears, after the United States expressed willingness to negotiate a resolution to an escalating trade conflict with China.

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow defended President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Chinese goods, saying such an approach could be a tactic to get China to negotiate on trade practices.

The currency traded mixed against its major rivals in the Asian session. While the pound held steady against the euro and the franc, it rose against the yen. Against the greenback, it dropped.

The pound dropped to 0.8738 against the euro, after having advanced to 0.8716 at 3:30 am ET. On the downside, 0.90 is seen as the next support level for the pound.

Data from Destatis showed that Germany's factory orders recovered in February but the pace of expansion was much weaker than expected.

Factory orders rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in February, reversing a revised 3.5 percent decrease seen in January. Economists had forecast a 1.5 percent rise.

The pound slipped to 1.4033 against the greenback and 1.3496 against the franc, off its early session's high of 1.4097 and near a 2-year high 1.3538, respectively. The pound is likely to find support around 1.38 against the greenback and 1.33 against the franc.

Reversing from an early 1-1/2-month high of 150.69 against the Japanese yen, the pound eased to 150.25. The pound is seen finding support around the 148.00 region.

Looking ahead, Canadian and U.S. trade data for February and U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended March 31 are scheduled for release in the New York session.

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