Asian session review: USD hovers near multi-week lows, weighed down by Fed Chair Powell's Jackson Hole speech

USD changed little against other major currencies in the Asian session on Monday, keeping around the multi-week lows it reached on Friday, weighed down by the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech on the economy and monetary policy.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), measuring the U.S. currency's value relative to a basket of foreign currencies, was little changed at 92.68.

In his address to the Fed's annual Jackson Hole policy symposium on Friday, Powell said that "substantial further progress" has been met on inflation and that "clear progress" has been made on a return to maximum employment, implying it's not yet time for the U.S. central bank to start tapering asset purchases because the country's labor market still has room for improvement. In addition, though the Fed's chair acknowledged that QE tapering should probably begin this year, he reminded markets that even when the U.S. central bank ends purchases, its "elevated holdings of longer-term securities will continue to support accommodative financial conditions'' and that the criteria for interest-rate increases will be based on a more careful assessment of "the incoming data and the evolving risks". He also highlighted that "the timing and pace of the coming reduction in asset purchases will not be intended to carry a direct signal regarding the timing of interest rate liftoff."

Powell's dovish speech pushed the greenback down 0.4% to 92.69 at Friday’s close, its lowest level since August 16. 

Investors are now looking for the key U.S. jobs data, set to be released on Friday, hoping to get more clues on the strength of the labour market.