The U.S. dollar rose to a more than two-month peak on Friday, on course for its sixth straight week of gains, as investors sought its safety as they awaited a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path of interest rates.

Markets will dissect Powell's address on monetary policy at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium at 10:05 a.m. ET (1405 GMT) to better understand whether the Fed is done with rate hikes and how long it plans to keep rates elevated.

The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, rose 0.173% to 104.25, the highest since June 7. The index is up more than 2% in August and is set to snap its two-month losing streak.

Two Federal Reserve officials tentatively welcomed a jump in bond market yields as something that could complement the U.S. central bank's work to slow the economy and get inflation back to the 2% target, while also noting they see a good chance that no more interest rate increases will be needed.

In other currencies, the euro slipped 0.28% to $1.0779, while sterling was last at $1.2563, down 0.29% on the day. Both currencies were at their lowest since mid-June.

The yen weakened 0.19% to 146.10 per dollar as the Asian currency straddled the level at which Japanese authorities intervened last year, keeping traders on their toes looking for signs of similar moves this time.

Core inflation in Japan's Tokyo perked up in June and remained above the central bank's 2% target for the 13th month. The data for Tokyo, which is seen as a leading indicator of nationwide trends, will likely feed into expectations for the Bank of Japan to phase out its massive stimulus this year.

The Australian dollar eased 0.20% to $0.641, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.27% to $0.590.

Source : Reuters