Investing.com - The dollar was steady against the euro and slipped lower against the yen on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday.
During European morning trade, the dollar inched lower against the euro, with EUR/USD edging up 0.05% to 1.3068.
Market participants were anticipating Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
The dollar fell sharply last week after Bernanke said the U.S. economy still needed monetary stimulus.
Data on Monday showing that U.S. retail sales rose less-than-expected June fuelled fears over a slowdown in the economic recovery.
The Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales rose 0.4%, slowing from a 0.5% increase in May and undershooting expectations for a 0.8% increase.
This was offset by data showing that the Empire State manufacturing index rose to a five-month high of 9.5 in July from 7.8 in June.
The dollar slid lower against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.25% to 99.59.
Elsewhere, the dollar edged higher against the pound, with GBP/USD dipping 0.06% to 1.5090.
The dollar was fractionally lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF inching down 0.04% to 0.9478.
The greenback was broadly lower against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD advancing 0.84% to 0.9173, NZD/USD up 0.35% to 0.7833 and USD/CAD easing up 0.07% to 1.0434.
The Australian dollar was boosted after the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July meeting said that the recent weakness in the Australian dollar would push inflation slightly higher.
The New Zealand’s dollar’s gains were capped after official data showed that domestic consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in the second quarter, less than the expected 0.3% increase.
The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, dipped 0.03% to 83.17.
The ZEW Institute was to release its closely watched report on German economic sentiment later Tuesday and the euro zone was to release official data on consumer price inflation.
The U.S. was also to release official data on consumer price inflation and a report on industrial production.
