U.S. Dollar Slips ahead of Bernanke Testimony

In Asian trading today, the U.S. Dollar Index fell as investors continue to debate the U.S. Federal Reserve’s fiscal strategy, especially as regards the possibility that a key interest rate hike may occur sooner than expected.

As reported at 3:14 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s value versus other major currencies, slipped .2% to trade at 80.469 .DXY; on Friday, it traded at an 8-month peak of 81.342 .DXY.

Last week, the Federal Reserve raised the discount rate by 25 basis points, and many market players took the move as an implication that a new, more restrictive monetary policy will be forthcoming.  Curbing expectations, however, was better than expected data for U.S. consumer inflation, which was also released on Friday.

The markets will keenly watch the testimony of Ben Bernanke, the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, when he appears before the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

Some analysts believe that his comments will likely match in tone those taken last week by other Federal Reserve officials, which essentially dismissed the likelihood that the Fed Funds rate will be increased soon.

The Humphrey-Hawkins Testimony and Report is a semi-annual event, and an opportunity for the head of the Federal Reserve to provide details of economic performance and monetary policy to the U.S. Congress.