Dollar mixed ahead of Benanke, BoE minutes boost pound

The dollar was mixed against the other major currencies on Wednesday ahead of testimony on monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day.

During European late morning trade, the dollar edged higher against the euro, with EUR/USD sliding 0.08% to 1.3153.

Investors were awaiting Bernanke's semiannual congressional testimony amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.

The dollar fell sharply last week after Bernanke said the U.S. economy still needed monetary stimulus.

Bernanke was expected to reiterate that the bank could start scaling back its asset purchase program by the end of this year if the economy continues to pick up, but that interest rates will remain at record lows for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, the dollar was lower against the pound, with GBP/USD rising 0.33% to 1.5206. 

The pound touched session highs against the dollar after the minutes of the Bank of England’s July meeting showed that policymakers voted unanimously to keep the bank’s quantitative easing program unchanged.

Two policymakers who had previously voted in favor of more stimulus said it remained "warranted".

Meanwhile, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell by a seasonally adjusted 21,200 in June, better than expectations for a decline of 8,000.

The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.8% in May, in line with expectations and unchanged from April. 

The dollar was higher against the yen, with USD/JPY climbing 0.54% to 99.62. 

Earlier Wednesday, the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s June meeting said the economy was expected to return to a moderate recovery path and reiterated that the bank’s easing program would remain in place for as long as necessary.

The dollar edged lower against the Swiss franc, with USD/CHF dipping 0.06% to 0.9383. 

The ZEW index of Swiss economic sentiment ticked up to 4.8 in July from 2.2 in June, data on Wednesday showed, as expectations for economic growth remained cautious. Analysts had expected a reading of 6.0.

The greenback was broadly higher against its Australian, New Zealand and Canadian counterparts, with AUD/USD losing 0.46% to trade at 0.9207, NZD/USD down 0.47% to 0.7855 and USD/CAD up 0.27% to 1.0395.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.10% to 82.71. 

The U.S. was to release official data on building permits and housing starts later Wednesday.