Dollar is falling and the market is awaiting the testimony from Fed Chairman

The dollar fell broadly on Monday as investors await Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony as well as the February jobs report, which will be released at the end of the week and is likely to influence the central bank’s interest rate decision.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance against six major currencies, fell 0.182 percent to 104.420. Last week, the index posted its first weekly loss since January.

After big increases in US interest rates over the past year, the Federal Reserve raised them by 25 basis points at its most recent two meetings, but a batch of strong economic data fueled fears in the market that the bank will return to raise interest aggressively.

The focus will be on the February jobs report, due next Friday, and Powell’s testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Citi strategists expect Powell to indicate a preference for a 25 basis point rate hike, but he will leave all options open as he speaks before the jobs data.

Citi expects an increase of 255,000 jobs after the sizable increase of 57,000 in January. He added that a large increase would lead to an increase in interest rates by 50 basis points.

The euro rose 0.07% to $1.0641, after rising 0.8% last week, and the pound reached $1.2029 in its latest trading, down 0.09% on the day.

The Japanese yen rose 0.10 percent to 135.74 yen per dollar ahead of the latest monetary policy meeting by Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Friday.

The Chinese yuan fell on Monday after China announced on Sunday a modest target for economic growth in 2023 of around 5%. In the spot market, the yuan opened trading in overseas markets at 6.9072 yuan per dollar and reached 6.9137 in the latest transaction.

The Australian dollar fell 0.21% to $0.675, and the New Zealand dollar fell 0.16% in the latest trading, to $0.621.