U.S. Dollar Stays Lower On Powell's Dovish Stance

The U.S. dollar held losses in the Asian session on Monday, as Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell struck a dovish tone on monetary policy, signaling that the central bank is in no rush to raise rates.

In his speech at Jackson Hole Economic Symposium last week, Powell said that the central bank is likely to start scaling back bond purchase program this year, but didn't provide timing for withdrawal.

Powell noted that there is "much ground to cover to reach maximum employment," a criteria to begin tapering.

The current spike in inflation is due in part to supply-chain disruptions on the back of pandemic and could be transitory.

The Fed chairman acknowledged that the spread of the Delta variant poses a "near-term risk" to economic outlook.

All important U.S. jobs data due on Friday could help assess the strength of the labor market.

The greenback fell to more than a 3-week low of 1.1810 against the euro and a 5-day low of 109.70 versus the yen, from last week's closing values of 1.1796 and 109.80, respectively. The greenback may locate support around 1.20 against the euro and 108.00 against the yen.

The greenback touched near 2-week lows of 0.9100 against the franc and 0.7318 against the aussie, down from Friday's closing values of 0.9109 and 0.7311, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 0.90 against the franc and 0.75 against the aussie.

The greenback edged down to 1.3775 against the pound, compared to Friday's close of 1.3757. The greenback is likely to face support around the 1.41 region, if it falls again.

The greenback held onto its last week's losses against the kiwi and the loonie, touching 0.7015 and 1.2607, respectively.

Looking ahead, Eurozone economic confidence index and Swiss KOF leading indicator for August are due in the European session.

German preliminary CPI for August is scheduled for release at 8:00 am ET.

U.S. pending home sales for July will be released in the New York session.