TOKYO (AFP) - The dollar edged down in Asia Wednesday, taking a breather from a rally driven by speculation the Fed will soon start tapering its huge stimulus drive.
The greenback bought 99.45 yen in Tokyo midday trade, weakening from 99.62 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon.
The euro strengthened to $1.3447 from $1.3433 while it bought 133.74 yen compared with 133.82 yen in US trade.
Dealers are awaiting remarks Thursday from Janet Yellen, President Barack Obama s nominee to succeed chairman Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve, said a senior dealer at a major bank in Tokyo.
Some investors want to push the dollar above the 100-yen mark but "many of us just don t want to make aggressive moves before we confirm Ms Yellen makes no negative surprises", the dealer said.
Yellen will appear before US senators Thursday to defend her nomination.
It comes as Fed policymakers debate whether the stimulus policy known as quantitative easing is still needed to support the world s largest economy.
The central bank holds a regular two-day policy meeting next month after upbeat US data fuelled speculation that the Fed could start tapering its $85-billion-a-month bond-buying programme before year s end.
Traders also are awaiting eurozone industrial production figures for September, due later Wednesday, which will be followed by July-September economic growth data on Thursday.
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