Forex - USD/CHF steady, near 3-week lows

The U.S. dollar was steady against the Swiss franc on Wednesday, trading near three-week lows as investors awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress later in the day. 

USD/CHF hit 0.9386 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.9387, easing 0.03%. 

The pair was likely to find support at 0.9320, the low of June 25 and resistance at 0.9494, Tuesday's high. 

Investors were eyeing Bernanke's testimony on monetary policy amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.

The greenback 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 interest rates will remain at record lows for the foreseeable future. 

In Switzerland, data showed that the ZEW economic expectations index rose to 4.8 in June, from a reading of 2.2 the previous month, disappointing expectations for an increase to 6.0. 

The Swissie was higher against the euro with EUR/CHF slipping 0.17%, to hit 1.2340. 

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release official data on building permits and housing starts.