The U.S. Dollar Index edged lower and held closet to a 2-week trough as investors await the new head of the Federal Reserve Bank’s testimony to glean, perhaps, the future of Quantitative Easing under her rein and the resultant direction of the greenback. Later today, Janet Yellen, now seen as the most powerful central banker in the world and certainly one of the most powerful women, will sit before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee and face questions on the U.S. economy and the central bank’s monetary response to it. The assumption is that she will reconfirm her predecessor’s stance that the ultra loose policy will continue to be wound down even as interest rates remain at their current lows, given the Fed’s dual mandate.
As reported at 10:05 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the U.S. Dollar Index traded at 80.544 .DXY, a loss of 0.1% and close to a 2-week low at 80.498 .DXY. The USD/JPY also slipped 0.1% to trade at 102.16 Yen. The EUR/USD edged up 0.2% to $1.3670, but slipping away from an earlier struck 2-week peak of $1.3679.
Aussie Dollar Lifted on Upbeat Report
The Australian Dollar received support following the release of a recent survey which showed that business conditions improved to a 3-year high last month. The AUD/USD was up 0.6% in the overnight hours in New York and was trading at $0.9004.