The dollar clawed back ground lost after downbeat U.S. economic data contributed to an uninspiring session on Wall Street. Investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech at 1620 GMT for fresh signals on the outlook for U.S. interest rate hikes, after a chorus of hawkish comments from other Fed officials.

Japanese household spending rose 1.2 percent in February from a year earlier in price-adjusted real terms, in contrast with the median forecast for a 1.5 percent fall, partly because of the extra Leap Year day. But the country's jobless rate inched up to 3.3 percent, and retail sales fell short.

Speculation of more monetary stimulus and talk that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe might delay an unpopular sales tax hike and call a snap election kept the yen under pressure, though Abe insisted on Tuesday that neither option was planned.

EUR/USD: during the Asian session the pair traded in the range of $1.1180-00

GBP/USD: during the Asian session the pair fell to $1.4230

USD/JPY: during the Asian session the pair rose to Y113.65

Based on Reuters materials