The dollar was down against the euro when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke struck a cautious note on the economy and repeated that US interest rates would stay low for some time. David Watt, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto said: "Far from signaling a looming change in the ‘extended period’ language and even as he expressed confidence in the recovery, Bernanke repeatedly stressed his underlying concerns about the US economy, the US fiscal situation and the ‘significant restraints’ on the pace of recovery. The dollar’s tumble was due to Bernanke’s cautious stance"
The euro was up 0.4 percent at $1.3656. The dollar was little changed against the yen at 93.18 yen. The euro rose 0.3 percent to 127.27 yen.