Dollar lowers

TOKYO: The dollar pared gains against its major peers on Tuesday, edging lower as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell´s first congressional testimony for any clues on the pace of U.S. interest rate rises.

Powell will testify on the economy and monetary policy before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee at 1400 GMT on Tuesday, followed by a testimony at the same time on Wednesday to the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

"It seems that the markets are focusing on whether or not the trade war between the U.S. and China may affect the outlook for the Fed´s tightening," said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.

"Powell, who is Republican and close to the Trump administration, will not stress much about the negative side of the U.S.-China trade war," said Yamamoto, who expects dollar-yen to gradually strengthen to 115.Powell is likely to reaffirm the Fed´s gradual monetary tightening policy in his testimony, although any suggestion of caution on trade could put a dent in the market´s appetite for risk.

On Tuesday, the dollar traded basically flat at 94.51 against a basket of six major currencies, paring small gains booked during early morning trade.