* Dollar index falls to lows not seen since August
* Sterling outperforms ahead of UK inflation data
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, April 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar remained on the defensive early on Tuesday, after carving out a fresh low on the break of a technical barrier overnight as momentum sellers joined in the fray.
The dollar index .DXY was swept to a near eight-month low of 93.748 as the October trough of 93.806 gave way. It has since drifted back to 94.000 early in Asia.
Still, the index has shed nearly 3 percent after recent dovish comments by Fed chair Janet Yellen doused expectations for hikes in U.S. interest rates anytime soon.
Fed funds futures 0#FF: imply barely one quarter point hike for the whole of 2016.
Weakness in the dollar kept the yen and euro near multi-month peaks. The greenback slumped to a 17-month low of 107.63 yen JPY= on Monday and last stood at 107.94.
The euro, which touched a six-month high of $1.1454 EUR= last Thursday, was at $1.1410.
Japanese authorities on Monday warned the yen moves were "one-sided and speculative" and that the government stood ready to intervene to weaken the currency. dollar barely reacted to comments from Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, who said he was "very open-minded" to deciding whether to raise interest rates at a mid-June policy meeting. the top performers overnight was sterling, which notched up broad gains. It climbed to a high of $1.4287 GBP=D4 and was last at $1.4232.
Analysts at Commonwealth Bank said short-covering and positioning for some risk that U.K. March inflation may be higher when the data is released later in the day probably drove the currency higher.
For now, traders expect the major currencies to consolidate with no catalysts to change the prevailing theme. But that could change later in the day with several senior Fed officials speaking at events.
"It's going to be a busy night of Fed speakers with Harker, Williams and Lacker all in the roster," analysts at National Australia Bank wrote in a note to clients. FED/DIARY
"That said... regardless of what other Fed speakers may say, we know the that the inner circle within the Fed remains 'cautious'."