Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly lower against a basket of other major currencies on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared to indicate that the bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates and as investors eyed upcoming U.S. new home sales data.
EUR/USD was last up 0.08% to 1.1349 after rising as high as 1.1388 earlier.
In prepared remarks during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Fed Chair Yellen said it was “unlikely” that economic conditions would warrant an interest rate increase for “at least the next couple of FOMC meetings”.
She added that if the economy keeps improving as the Fed expects it will modify its forward guidance, but emphasized that a modification of its language should not be read as indicating that a rate hike would automatically happen within a number of meetings.
The remarks prompted investors to push back expectations for a mid-year U.S. interest rate hike.
The single currency remained under pressure as lingering doubts over the agreement to extend Greece’s bailout by four months kept investors cautious.
Both the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank warned Tuesday that Greece’s reform plans are not detailed enough and said Athens will need to do more to secure the release of further bailout funds.
The dollar held steady against the yen, with USD/JPY at 118.94, while USD/CHF fell 0.20% to 0.9487.
In other trade, sterling rose to two-month highs, with GBP/USD up 0.22% to 1.5488.
The commodity exposed Australian and New Zealand dollars strengthened after data earlier showed that Chinese factory activity edged up to a four-month high in February.
China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers' index inched up to 50.1 from 49.7 in January, just above the 50 level separating growth from contraction.
NZD/USD was up 0.78% to 0.7550, while AUD/USD gained 0.70% to trade at 0.7884. The Canadian dollar also gained ground, with USD/CAD down 0.44% to 1.2432.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.13% at 94.40.