The U.S. dollar was largely steady on Wednesday, as traders avoided making big bets ahead of congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, as well as a European Central Bank rate decision and U.S. jobs data later this week.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin was picking up momentum again, although it stayed below a record high reached in a volatile overnight session.
The absence of catalysts kept the dollar in a tight range, having slipped overnight on data showing the U.S. services industry growth slowed a bit last month.
The February U.S. jobs report on Friday stands as a test for the rates outlook, with the potential to rock markets if employment surprises to the upside.
Traders were also waiting on Fed Chair Powell's first day of testimony before Congress on the state of the U.S. economy, where he's expected to reinforce the Fed will wait for more data before making any rate cuts.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, hovered around 103.76.
The euro was flat at $1.0855 as traders braced for the ECB's interest rate decision later on Thursday.
The central bank is expected to leave rates at a record 4%, putting the focus on clues about when cuts may begin and updates to economic projections.
Sterling held steady at $1.27050 ahead of the British budget announcement on Wednesday.
The Australian dollar recovered in the Asian afternoon, brushing off gross domestic product data that showed the economy grew a mere 0.2% in the fourth quarter, reinforcing the case for rate cuts. The currency was last up 0.24% at $0.65195.
The kiwi gained 0.16% at $0.60960, after touching a three-week low of $0.6070 earlier in the session.
The dollar gave up 0.12% against the yen to stand at 149.86, after retreating overnight as low as 149.70.
Although pinned in a tight range, the Japanese currency has remained below last week's low against the greenback of 150.85.
Markets are also keeping a close eye on the world's largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, after it surged to a record high overnight before retreating sharply.
It was last up 4.11% at $65,921. Bitcoin has rallied hard since October as investors poured money into U.S. spot exchange-traded crypto products and on the prospect that global interest rates may fall.
Source: Reuters
