Investing.com - The dollar pared gains against the other majors currencies on Wednesday, ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, although positive U.S. data continued to lend support.
EUR/USD was down 0.12% at 1.0700, off the previous session’s five-week highs of 1.0719.
Official data earlier showed that U.S. industrial production rose 0.8% in December, better than expectations for a 0.6% gain.
However, manufacturing production increased by 0.2% last month, disappointing forecasts for a 0.4% rise.
The report came after the U.S. Commerce Department said consumer prices gained 0.3% in December, in line with expectations. Year-over-year, consumer prices increased 2.1% last month.
The greenback had weakened broadly after Donald Trump said to the Wall Street Journal on Monday that U.S. companies could not compete with China "because our currency is too strong. And it's killing us".
Elsewhere, GBP/USD retreated 0.63% to 1.2333, after rallying 3.03% to a seven-day high of 1.2415 on Tuesday.
The pound found strong support after after British Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed, in a speech on Tuesday, that Britain will be leaving the single market when it exits the European Union, but would seek maximum access to it through a new trade agreement.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate remained unchanged at an 11-year low of 4.8% in the three months to November, in line with forecasts.
The claimant count declined by 10,100 in December, compared to expectations for an increase of 5,000 people.
Meanwhile, the average earnings index, including bonuses, rose by 2.8% in the three months to November, compared to forecasts for a 2.6% rise. Excluding bonuses, wages rose 2.7%, beating forecasts for a 2.6% gain.
USD/JPY climbed 0.60% to 113.29, bouncing off Tuesday’s one-and-a-half month low of 112.58, while USD/CHF held steady at 1.0015.
The Australian dollar pared earlier losses, with AUD/USD little changed at 0.7562, while NZD/USD slipped 0.15% to 0.7205.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD was up 0.27% at 1.3076, off session highs of 1.3121 and not far from Tuesday’s three-month low of 1.3016.
In a widely expected move, the Bank of Canada left its overnight cash rate unchanged at 0.50%, a record low where it has been since July 2015.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.25% at 100.51, off session highs of 100.90 and close to Tuesday’s five-week trough of 100.23.