The U.S. Dollar managed to eke out a moderate recovery during Tuesday’s Asian session as investors hold on to their expectations that the Federal Reserve is likely to take a less accommodative stance before any of its major rivals. Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, is scheduled to testify before Congress tomorrow and investors are exercising caution ahead of that testimony, though analysts’ expectations are that Bernanke will take on a more hawkish persona representing the Fed as a whole rather than just espousing his own ideas. Earlier, the U.S. Dollar had been under some sell pressure from retail sales data that failed to meet analysts’ expectations.
As reported at 11:56 am. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index was trading at 83.03 .DXY, not far from overnight trade in New York but keeping up the momentum of the rebound from last Thursday’s low of 82.418 .DXY. The Index is used by investors to gauge the greenback’s relative strength against its peers. The USD/JPY pair traded at 99.91 Yen, moving away from last week’s trough when the pair hit 98.20 Yen. The Yen is expected to be under some pressure of its own as an expected political victory for Abe Shinzo is likely to increase the momentum for the Yen’s depreciation.