Forex Pros – The U.S. dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as traders eyed U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on the U.S. economy. During European afternoon trade, the greenback was up against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.46% to hit 1.2821. The greenback was also up against the pound and the Australian dollar, with GBP/USD shedding 0.34% to hit 1.5212 and AUD/USD falling 0.13% to hit 0.8827. Earlier in the day, the minutes of the Bank of England's July 7 monetary policy committee meeting showed they discussed both easing and tightening policy, before leaving the benchmark interest rate on hold. But the greenback was down the yen and the Swiss franc with USD/JPY shedding 0.41% to hit 87.15 and USD/CHF falling 0.24% to hit 1.0505. The greenback was also down against its Canadian and New Zealand counterparts, with USD/CAD shedding 0.11% to hit 1.0425 and NZD/USD advancing 0.13% to hit 0.7178. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.22%. Later in the day, U.S. Fed chief Bernanke was to give his semi-annual report on the economy to the Senate Banking Committee and there was speculation that he would indicate that the Fed intends keep its benchmark interest rate on hold, amid signs the global economic recovery is slowing.

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