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.
