Investing.com - The U.S. dollar was unchanged on Tuesday in Asia after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank is likely to hold rates steady.
The U.S. dollar index was unchanged at 98.238 by 12:58 AM ET (04:58 GMT).
The Fed is “strongly committed” to its 2% inflation goal, Powell said in a speech overnight. However, he noted that inflation has run well below that level for 2019 despite three interest rate cuts over the past four months.
The central bank cut its benchmark rate another quarter point to a range targeted at 1.5%-1.75% at its October meeting.
Trade news received some focus today after China’s Ministry of Commerce said top negotiator on trade Liu He talked with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday morning.
“Both sides discussed resolving core issues of common concern, reached consensus on how to resolve related problems (and) agreed to stay in contact over remaining issues for a phase one agreement,” the Chinese-language statement said.
The phone call followed a previous encounter earlier this month, which the ministry called “constructive.”
Meanwhile, the Chinese state-backed Global Times newspaper reported Monday that the two sides were “very close” to a deal on trade.
The USD/CNY pair slipped 0.1% to 7.0290.
The safe-haven yen slipped as Asian stocks gained today. The USD/JPY pair inched up 0.1% to 108.96.
The GBP/USD pair was little changed at 1.2894 after jumping in the previous session amid reports that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to bring a Brexit deal to parliament before Christmas.
The AUD/USD pair climbed 0.1% to 0.6781.