Dollar Edges Lower Ahead of Yellen Testimony

The dollar was little changed Tuesday, a day before a key monetary policy meeting in Canada and congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was recently unchanged at 88.39.

Ms. Yellen, who is scheduled to appear before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, has taken an optimistic view of the economy in recent weeks, bolstering the case for a third interest rate increase from the central bank this year. Higher rates tend to boost the dollar, as they make the currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors.

At the same time, the U.S. currency has come under pressure in recent weeks as central-bank officials in Europe and Canada signaled that they may soon begin winding down easy-money policies.

Last month, Bank of Canada Gov. Stephen Poloz rekindled expectations for a rate increase in July by saying excess slack in the Canadian economy is now being absorbed "steadily" at the current pace of growth.

The euro was up 0.3% to $1.1429. The dollar was up 0.2% to Yen114.23.

Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

The dollar edged lower Tuesday, a day before a key monetary policy meeting in Canada and congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

The Wall Street Journal Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, was recently down 0.2% at 88.22.

Ms. Yellen, who is scheduled to appear before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday, has taken an optimistic view of the economy in recent weeks, bolstering the case for a third interest rate increase from the central bank this year. Higher rates tend to boost the dollar, as they make the currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors.

At the same time, the U.S. currency has come under pressure in recent weeks as central-bank officials in Europe and Canada signaled that they may soon begin winding down easy money policies.

Last month, Bank of Canada Gov. Stephen Poloz rekindled expectations for a rate increase in July by saying excess slack in the Canadian economy is now being absorbed "steadily" at the current pace of growth.

The euro was up 0.6% to $1.1468. The dollar was down 0.1% to Yen113.93.

Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 11, 2017 18:51 ET (22:51 GMT)