SINGAPORE/LONDON—The dollar was firmer on Wednesday leading into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s appearance before Congress, where he is expected to strike a hawkish tone, while sterling slipped after hotter-than-expected British inflation data.
The annual pace of British consumer price gains was steady at 8.7 percent in May, against hopes it had cooled since April. Sterling briefly rose as far as 0.3 percent against the dollar to $1.2803 before reversing its gains.
At 0845 GMT, sterling was 0.34 percent down against the dollar at $1.2723.
Adam Cole, chief currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, said sterling’s weakness may be down to fears that “inflation is high enough and consistent enough for it to become negative for the currency.”…