Investing.com - The dollar edged higher against the yen on Tuesday and was broadly lower against the other main currencies, ahead of testimony to Congress on monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen later in the day.
USD/JPY eased up 0.15% to 102.40, off session lows of 102.08.
Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday.
The newly appointed Fed chair was expected to reiterate the bank’s intention to unwind its asset purchase program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates close to zero for an extended period.
The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the U.S. recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of job creation in three years in December and January.
EUR/USD hit 1.3683, the highest since January 29 and was last up 0.23% to 1.3675.
The pound was also higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.41% to 1.6466.
The dollar slipped against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.22% to 0.8947.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar rose to one-month highs, with AUD/USD advancing 0.91% to 0.9031. The Aussie strengthened after a report showed that the National Australia Bank’s business conditions index rose for the first time in four months in January, while its business confidence index also improved.
A separate report showed that house prices rose in the fourth quarter. The upbeat data reinforced the view that the Reserve Bank will hold back from further rate cuts for now.
The New Zealand dollar also moved higher, with NZD/USD climbing 0.74% to 0.8326.
The Canadian dollar edged higher against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CAD slipping 0.15% to 1.1040.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was down 0.19% to a two-week low of 80.55.