The broad gains put the region on course to end a strong week on a positive note as concerns about the fast-spreading Delta variant, which weighed on confidence for much of August, gave way to optimism over the recovery outlook
Weaker jobs numbers, due to be released on Friday, could instead cement a case for later action - a pre-announcement in November with a formal decision in December
South Korea's won rose as much as 0.6%, while Malaysian ringgit touched a near 2-month top as the dollar kept near two-week lows after Powell indicated on Friday there was no rush to tighten monetary policy
The dollar index stood at 93.030, bouncing back from Thursday's low of 92.807 as the euro traded at $1.1755, having eased from the previous day's high of $1.1779
Sterling has traded largely in line with global risk sentiment in financial markets in recent weeks, tracking the direction of world stock markets higher or lower