The US dollar edged higher against a basket of major currencies on Monday, a day after a top Federal Reserve official made comments perceived as hawkish, while hesitation ahead of a speech from the Fed chair on Friday capped the greenback's gains. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Sunday that he thought the central bank was close to achieving its employment and inflation targets.
While the Fed's No 2 policymaker did not address when the US central bank should next raise interest rates, analysts said his comments could augur a hawkish outlook from Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday. Yellen is expected to give guidance on interest rate policy in a speech at the Fed's annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "(Fischer) is trying to signal to the market that the Fed is more serious about normalising policy," said Boris Schlossberg, managing director of FX strategy at BK Asset Management in New York.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was last up 0.14 percent at 94.644 after falling about 1.3 percent last week. The euro was last down 0.18 percent against the dollar at $1.1305. The euro hit a nearly eight-week high against the dollar on August 18 of $1.1365, and the greenback hit an eight-week low against the Swiss franc of 0.9532 franc after what traders perceived as mixed signals regarding US monetary policy. The dollar was last up 0.25 percent against the yen at 100.45 yen.