Investing.com - The greenback remained fairly flat Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank could consider ending its reduction of the balance sheet
“The Committee can now evaluate the appropriate timing and approach for the end of balance sheet runoff,” Powell said in testimony prepared for delivery to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday.
The Fed has paused on its pace of rate hikes as it evaluates headwinds in the domestic economy and abroad, removing the words “gradual increases” in interest rates from its policy statement in January.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, inched down 0.04% to 96.23 as of 10:41 AM ET (15:41 GMT).
The dollar was up against the safe-haven yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.12% to 110.79.
Elsewhere, the pound recovered as the Labour Party said it would put forward an amendment for a second referendum on the U.K. leaving the European Union. While it is not expected to pass, it increases hope among investors that the U.K. will try to extend the deadline to leave the bloc. GBP/USD gained 0.72% to 1.3184. The euro was flat, with EUR/USD falling 0.01% to 1.1355.
In Australia, AUD/USD slipped 0.06% to 0.7160, while NZD/USD decreased 0.03% to 0.6878.