The U.S. dollar eased from a two-month peak on Wednesday as investors looked to the Federal Reserve chair's speech this week for cues on the path of monetary policy, while the yen loitered near 146 a dollar, keeping traders guessing on any intervention.

The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, fell 0.145% to 103.44, but was not far from the two-month high of 103.71 it touched on Tuesday. The index is up 1.6% in August, on course to snap a two-month losing streak.

The currency market is subdued amid a lull in summer volatility and ahead of the Fed's central bank symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, this week, said currency strategist Christopher Wong at OCBC in Singapore.

With traders reluctant to place major bets, the spotlight is firmly on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech at the event, which is set for Aug. 24-26. Investors will parse his words closely to gauge the Fed's monetary policy path.

A recent run of strong U.S. economic data has helped allay worries of an impending recession but with inflation still well above the Fed's target of 2%, investors are wary that the central bank may keep rates in a higher range for longer.

Investors' focus will be on the U.S., euro zone and UK August PMI data due later in the day.

The yen strengthened 0.12% to 145.71 per dollar in Asian hours but was not far off the nine-month milestone of 146.565 touched last week, leaving traders on tenterhooks as they warily watch for any signs of intervention.

When the dollar broke above 145 yen last year that triggered intervention, and speculation has begun mounting that Tokyo would soon step into the market to support its currency again.

In other currencies, the euro up 0.15% to $1.086, inching away from the two-month low of $1.0833 it touched overnight.

The Australian dollar rose 0.23% to $0.644, while the New Zealand dollar inched up 0.08% to $0.595.

Source : Reuters