The dollar declined in early European trading on Monday amid a broader rise in risk appetite, but remains elevated as the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its tightening stance.

At 03:15 a.m. ET (07:15 GMT), the dollar index, which tracks its exchange rate against a basket of six other currencies, was trading 0.2 percent lower at 103.990.

The U.S. central bank announced a 75 basis point interest rate hike last week, the biggest increase since 1994, and traders will now focus on Fed chief Jerome Powell’s speeches to the Senate and House of Representatives on Wednesday and Thursday to see what comes next. St. Louis FRB head James Bullard warned that inflation expectations in the U.S. could “lose steam without credible Fed action,” while the country’s former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers suggested that the U.S. unemployment rate would need to exceed 5% for an extended period to counter price pressures.

Two other Federal Reserve officials are also due to speak a little later today, while the economic data calendar is centered around US housing data, with data on completed home sales for May due at 10:00 am ET (14:00 GMT).

USD/JPY rose 0.1% to 135.19, not far from last week’s 24-year low of 135.58, as the Bank of Japan maintained its accommodative monetary policy even as a number of the world’s major central banks raised rates.

Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Tuesday morning that he was concerned about the recent sharp weakening of the yen and would respond to currency market movements accordingly if necessary.

“‘Powell’s “hawkish” tone during his speeches this week may well trigger further yen weakness,’ ING analysts said in a note. – We have long discussed that currency intervention is not a simple policy move for the G7 countries, but it is hard to argue that it will be the only option for the Japanese authorities unless Treasury yields start to fall.”

EUR/USD rose 0.4% to 1.0549 after European Central Bank Governor Christine Lagarde confirmed on Monday that bank officials fully intend to raise interest rates in July and September, despite growing concerns about rising bond yields in the eurozone periphery.

Investors will also be keeping a close eye on the political situation in France after last weekend’s election left parliament in limbo.

“This news didn’t seem to worry the euro and, being more of a long-term risk to the eurozone outlook, it wasn’t too surprising. EUR/USD regained its footing at 1.0500,” ING added.

GBP/USD rose 0.5% to 1.2306, AUD/USD gained 0.4% to 0.6977, helped by comments from Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe, who on Tuesday reiterated the likelihood of further interest rate hikes, while USD/CNY rose 0.1% to 6.6964 after China saw an increase in COVID-19 outbreaks in cities such as Shenzhen.