ET:Dollar dips, focus on Yellen comments on economy
SINGAPORE: The dollar eased against the euro in Asian trade Tuesday as investors cautiously await US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen's inaugural testimony to Congress.
The euro rose to $1.3657 in Singapore afternoon trade from 1.3642 in New York late Monday.
The dollar however rose to 102.34 Japanese yen from 102.18 yen. The euro bought 139.87 yen from 139.46 yen.
Japanese financial markets are closed Tuesday for a public holiday. French bank Credit Agricole said markets were "taking on the appearance of grounding to a halt" ahead of Yellen's first testimony on the state of the US economy and monetary policy to Congress later Tuesday.
Yellen, who succeeded Ben Bernanke on February 1, appears at a similar hearing in the Senate on Thursday.
Credit Agricole said investors would be keen to see if she maintains a dovish bias on the drawdown of its massive stimulus, against the backdrop of a more hawkish policymaking committee in the Federal Reserve.
"While we do not expect any major deviations from the Fed's current outlook, her interpretation of the recent softening in US data will be an important driver for markets," it said.
"Against this backdrop, the extent she views the recent soft patch in data as a function of weather-related effects (and other seasonal distortions) could support policy normalisation," it said.
This in turn would reverse gains in US treasury bond prices and provide a boost to the US dollar, it said.
A disappointing US jobs report for January released last week has sparked concerns of weakness in the world's biggest economy, coming after dismal numbers in December.
The dollar was mostly higher against Asia-Pacific currencies. It rose to Sg$1.2688 from Sg$1.2683 in Tokyo on Monday, to 12,163 Indonesian rupiah from 12,157 rupiah, to 62.39 Indian rupees from 62.15 rupees, and to 45.01 Philippine pesos from 44.94 pesos.
It was flat against the Thai baht at 32.79 baht while easing to 1,070.89 South Korean won from 1,071.85 won.
The Australian dollar bought 90.03 US cents from 89.42 cents, while the Chinese yuan bought 16.88 Japanese yen from 16.89 yen.
