The dollar was firmer on Wednesday leading into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's appearance before Congress, where he is expected to strike a hawkish tone, while sterling slipped after hotter-than-expected British inflation data.

The annual pace of British consumer price gains was steady at 8.7% in May, against hopes it had cooled since April, with the UK's inflation rate remaining more persisitent compared to other major economies.

After an initial rise, sterling fell as much as 0.56% against the dollar to a low of $1.2691 following this month's inflation figures. It was last down 0.32% at $1.2722.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the dollar rose by as much as 0.5% against the Japanese yen to 142.15 per dollar after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday reiterated the central bank's dovish stance to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy. It was last up 0.29% at 141.83 yen.

The rally against the yen pushed the U.S. dollar index , which measures the currency against six major peers, up slightly to 102.58. The euro was trading roughly flat at $1.0918.

Source : Reuters