U.S. dollar declines amid Yellen's remarks

The U.S. dollar decreased against most major currencies on Wednesday as investors were digesting Federal Reserve Janet Yellen's remarks during her semi-annual testimony ahead of Thursday's Brexit vote.

In her testimony before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Yellen reiterated the cautious approach to raising interest rates that the central bank signaled last week after its policy meeting.

She said that the central bank expected interest rates to "remain low" for some time, in view of the weak global economy and sluggish productivity growth.

Meanwhile, the closely-watched Britain's referendum will be held on Thursday to decide whether the country should leave or remain in the European Union.

Giovanni Pillitteri, global head of Foreign Exchange Trading at GTS, a trading and technology firm, told Xinhua on Wednesday that in case of an exit vote from the UK will probably see a flight to safety: the U.S. dollar will appreciate not only against the British pound but also against the euro.

He added that other currencies that will see appreciation include the Swiss Franc and the Japanese Yen because of their safe haven status.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.27 percent at 93.759 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1302 dollars from 1.1259 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.4681 dollars from 1.4677 dollars. The Australian dollar went up to 0.7493 dollars from 0.7470 dollars.

The dollar bought 104.43 Japanese yen, lower than 104.76 yen of the previous session. The dollar slipped to 0.9587 Swiss francs from 0.9613 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.2845 Canadian dollars from 1.2794 Canadian dollars. Endit