2018.07.1614:50:00UTC+00Dollar Little Changed Ahead Of Powell Testimony

The dollar is slightly lower against all of its major rivals Monday afternoon, but remains little changed overall. Investors are in a cautious mood ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony this week.

Traders will be keeping a close eye on his testimony Tuesday and Wednesday for more clues regarding future rate hikes.

Retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of June, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Monday.

The report said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in June after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.3 percent in May. Economists had expected sales to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.8 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday showed New York manufacturing activity continued to grow at a fairly brisk pace in July, although the pace of growth slowed from the previous month.

While the New York Fed said its general business conditions index dipped to 22.6 in July from 25.0, a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to drop to 22.0.

Partly reflecting a notable increase in wholesale inventories, the Commerce Department released a report on Monday showing business inventories in the U.S. rose in line with economist estimates in the month of May.

The Commerce Department said business inventories climbed by 0.4 percent in May after rising by 0.3 percent in April. The increase in inventories matched expectations.

The dollar has dropped to around $1.1715 against the Euro Monday afternoon, from an early high of $1.1675.

Eurozone trade surplus decreased further in May, as imports grew faster than exports, figures from Eurostat showed Monday. The seasonally adjusted trade surplus dropped to EUR 16.9 billion in May from EUR 18.0 billion in April. The buck fell to a low of $1.3292 against the pound sterling Monday morning, but has since rebounded to around $1.3235.

The average asking price for a house in the United Kingdom was down 0.1 percent on month in July, property tracking website Rightmove said on Monday, coming in at 309,191 pounds.

On a yearly basis, house prices were up 1.4 percent - slowing from 1.7 percent in the previous month.

The greenback rose to a high of Y112.562 against the Japanese Yen Monday morning, but has since eased back to around Y112.245.