NEW YORK: The dollar edged higher on Tuesday before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before Congress, with investors anxious to see whether Powell pushes back against the view that the Fed is likely to raise rates sooner than previously expected as inflation rises.

The dollar has surged since the US central bank on Wednesday said that policymakers are forecasting two rate hikes in 2023. That led investors to re-evaluate bets that the US central bank will let inflation run at higher levels for a longer time before hiking rates.

The dollar index gained 0.11% to 91.998, but is holding below a two-month high of 92.408 reached on Friday.

The euro fell 0.09% to $1.1906 and the dollar gained 0.30% to 110.69 Japanese yen.

Bitcoin dropped to its lowest level since January on Tuesday, adding to losses sparked a day earlier when China's central bank deepened a crackdown on cryptocurrencies. It was last at $29,497, down 6.76% on the day.