The U.S. dollar was little changed on Wednesday as traders awaited a speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual Jackson Hole central bankers' symposium later this week for clues on the path of monetary policy.

This week's set-piece event is the Jackson Hole central-bank gathering in Wyoming, slated for Thursday through Saturday. Investors will be glued to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech, hoping for any insight into whether the central bank might kick off interest-rate cuts in September.

Gold prices edged lower on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar firmed, while investors hunkered down for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole later this week.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's upcoming speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Friday is being billed as a pivotal, "make-or-break" moment for the central bank's more dovish contingent.