Dollar firm

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TOKYO: The dollar steadied against a basket of currencies on Monday after slipping on soft U.S. economic data, with investors awaiting comments by a top Federal Reserve official for clues on whether recent strength can be sustained.

The dollar index against a group of major currencies was flat at 97.187.The index had climbed to a two-week high of 97.560 late the previous week after the Fed raised interest rates and kept the door open for another hike in 2017. But its rally was tempered by Friday´s weaker-than-expected housing and consumer sentiment data.

The market is looking to comments by New York Fed President William Dudley for potential support for the greenback.

Dudley, a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen, is due to take part in a roundtable with local business leaders in Plattsburgh, New York.

"In the wake of Friday´s weak U.S. data, Dudley could provide insight into whether the Fed is still poised to continue normalising monetary policy," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief forex strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.

"My view is that Dudley won´t sound too dovish, and thus allow the dollar´s gradual rise to resume.