1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls on Fed chair's second-day testimony

The U.S. dollar dropped against other major currencies on Wednesday amid Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's dovish remarks on raising interest rates during her second-day testimony at the House Financial Services Committee.

Yellen emphasized on Wednesday that even if the time comes to start raising interest rates, "we will continue to provide a great deal of support for the economy and make sure that we will continue to see a good job market that continues to improve over time."

On Tuesday, Yellen told the Senate Banking Committee in her first-day testimony that the central bank would remain patient in interest rate hike, which means a rise is unlikely for at least the next couple of the Fed's policy meetings.

The greenback was under pressure for a second day following Yellen's remarks. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six other currencies, was down 0.29 percent at 94.223 in late trading.

On the U.S. economic front, sales of new single-family houses in January, at a better-than-expected 481,000 annual pace, managed to hold onto December's big surge, according to estimates released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.

Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 20 from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported early Wednesday.

In late New York trading, the euro went up to 1.1356 dollars from 1.1338 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.5526 dollars from 1.5455 dollars. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7889 dollar from 0.7826 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 118.86 Japanese yen, lower than 118.93 yen of the previous session. The greenback edged down to 0.9475 Swiss franc from 0.9501 Swiss franc, and decreased to 1.2429 Canadian dollars from 1.2508 Canadian dollars. Endite