PARIS: European shares slipped for a third straight session on Thursday ahead of further economic data from the euro zone that will provide more clues on the European Central Bank’s interest rate path, while rate woes continued to dampen sentiment.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1%, as of 0712 GMT, as miners led the losses with a 1.3% slide. The main focus will be on the euro zone’s economic sentiment data, due at 0900 GMT, expected to see a slight improvement in May, while April’s unemployment rate due at the same time will help gauge the economic strength of the region.

Remarks from Irish Central Bank Governor Gabriel Makhlouf and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey will be on investors’ radar later in the day, with key inflation readings from the US and euro zone due on Friday.

German 10-year bund yeilds were steady at 2.671% on Thursday after a spike in the previous session following weak US Treasury auctions and strong data that threw rate cuts in doubt.