Investing.com - The dollar was trading at two-week lows against the euro on Tuesday and was little changed against the yen before testimony to Congress on monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.
USD/JPY edged up 0.07% to 102.33 in thin trade, with markets in Japan closed for a holiday.
Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
The Fed chair was expected to reiterate that the bank will continue to scale back its asset purchase program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates at low levels until the recovery has firmly taken hold.
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 0.19% to 1.3670.
The pound was also higher against the dollar, with GBP/USD rising 0.18% to 1.6429.
The dollar slipped against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF down 0.14% to 0.8955.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar rose to one-month highs, with AUD/USD advancing 0.91% to 0.9031. The Aussie’s gains came 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 0.64% to 0.8318.
The Canadian dollar slipped lower against the U.S. dollar, with USD/CAD rising 0.16% to 1.1073.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, slid 0.12% to a two-week low of 80.61.