Investing.com - The euro was almost unchanged against the dollar in quiet trade on Wednesday as investors scaled back expectations on the timing of a U.S. rate hike while lingering concerns over the conditions attached to Greece’s bailout extension also kept investors cautious.
EUR/USD was last at 1.1352, holding below session highs of 1.1388.
The dollar remained softer after remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen appeared to indicate that the bank is in no hurry to raise interest rates.
In prepared remarks during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, 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 dollar showed little reaction after data on Wednesday showed that U.S. new home sales fell by a smaller-than-forecast 0.2% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual unit rate of 481,000. December sales were revised up to 482,000 units, the highest level since June 2008, from 481,000 units.
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.
EUR/JPY was at 134.9, almost unchanged for the day, while USD/JPY eased to 118.82.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.22% to 94.32.