FALCON POWERS – The dollar hovered on Tuesday near its lowest level in around a month against a basket of major currencies, as the fallout from Friday’s jobs report continued and investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on the path of monetary policy. The euro held its ground following sharp swings on Monday after the French parliamentary elections ended without a clear majority for any of the competing alliances, which could lead to political gridlock, despite its potential positive impact on financial concerns related to a clear victory for the left or the far-right.
The dollar index, which measures the performance of the US currency against the euro, sterling, yen, and three other major currencies, was at 104.99 points, remaining close to the 104.80 level it touched on Monday, the lowest in three and a half weeks. The index fell 0.9% last week, influenced by the jobs report on Friday that boosted bets the Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates.
Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to deliver two-day congressional testimony, starting with the Senate on Tuesday and then the House on Wednesday. The euro rose 0.06% to $1.08295, nearing the around four-week high of $1.0845 it reached on Monday, after falling to $1.07915 the same day.
Sterling was steady at $1.2809, after climbing to $1.28455 on Monday, the highest level since June 12. The yen was little changed at 160.945 per dollar.
