By Hiroyuki Kachi 
 

The dollar remained flat against the yen and the euro during rangebound Asia trade on Friday, with investors largely taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Around 0350 GMT, the U.S. dollar was changing hands at Y100.47, compared with Y100.52 late Thursday in New York. The euro was unchanged at $1.1289 midday.

The WSJ Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies, was down a slight 0.07% at 85.73.

The greenback gained overnight following solid durable goods orders data and Fed officials' hawkish messages. Kansas City Fed President Esther George laid out her case for raising short-term interest rates Thursday in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying that "today my views are it is time to move." Meanwhile, Fed Dallas President Robert Kaplan also said Thursday the U.S. central bank is edging closer to a rate rise.

But investors were largely sitting on the sidelines until they hear from Ms. Yellen at the annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo. as they look for clues on the path of U.S. interest-rate increases.

Many in the currency market believe Ms. Yellen will unlikely to refer to short-term policy steps. As only a minority of analysts and market players expect the Fed to increase rates in September, many expect Ms. Yellen will likely avoid making hawkish remarks to prevent the market turbulence.

"Investors have kept talking about Ms. Yellen and Jackson Hole again and again since the beginning of this week. So that they won't make any moves pending the results," said Daisaku Ueno, chief FX strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

"The market's near-term focus is if [there are] any hints about the Fed's move in September. But I don't expect any specific hints that the market is longing for," said Mr. Ueno, who expects Ms. Yellen may instead suggest the possibility of rate increase within this year without giving specific details.

"So, what happens to the market next week is just a repeat of this week," said Mr. Ueno, adding that the market will again sit on the sidelines until the next big event--the U.S. jobs data scheduled Sept. 2-- if Ms. Yellen keeps saying decision to raise rates remains "data dependent," said Mr. Ueno.

In other currency trades, the euro was at Y113.45 from Y113.44.

 
 
Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 23:50 EST / 0350 GMT 
 
                           Latest       Previous   %Chg    Daily    Daily   %Chg 
Dollar Rates                               Close            High      Low  12/31 
 
USD/JPY Japan           100.47-48      100.52-53  -0.05   100.59   100.38 -16.48 
EUR/USD Euro            1.1289-92      1.1284-87  +0.04   1.1296   1.1281  +3.96 
GBP/USD U.K.            1.3206-08      1.3192-94  +0.11   1.3217   1.3186 -10.38 
USD/CHF Switzerland     0.9667-71      0.9676-80  -0.09   0.9683   0.9665  -3.50 
USD/CAD Canada          1.2906-11      1.2920-25  -0.11   1.2925   1.2907  -6.72 
AUD/USD Australia       0.7630-34      0.7616-20  +0.18   0.7634   0.7614  +4.73 
NZD/USD New Zealand     0.7311-17     0.7298-304  +0.18   0.7316   0.7297  +7.04 
 
Euro Rate 
 
EUR/JPY Japan           113.41-45      113.43-47  -0.02   113.54   113.35 -13.27 
 
Source: Tullett Prebon 
 

Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at Hiroyuki.Kachi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 26, 2016 00:27 ET (04:27 GMT)