The greenback, tracked by the US Dollar Index, has surrendered initial gains and has now returned below the 96.00 handle.
US Dollar lower ahead of Yellen
USD met increasing selling pressure after market participants have perceived as dovish earlier comments by St. Louis Fed J.Bullard, who advocated for a gradual pace of future rate hikes while hinting at the same time that the US could meet its inflation target sooner than expected.
The index is retreating for the second consecutive session so far with month-end flows also cited as drivers behind the ongoing correction lower.
Ahead in the session, Yellen’s speech will take centre stage followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller index, CB’s Consumer Confidence and the speech by Fed’s Kaplan.
US Dollar relevant levels
The index is down 0.02% at 95.92 and a breakdown of 95.54 (23.6% of 98.59-94.61) would target 94.61 (2016 low Mar.18) en route to 94.19 (monthly low Sep.18 2015). On the flip side, the next hurdle aligns at 96.47 (20-day sma) followed by 97.15 (200-day sma) and finally 97.65 (76.4% Fibo of 98.59-94.61).
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)