TOKYO- The US dollar firmed against its major peers on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against bets on more supersized interest rate cuts.

The yen steadied close to the middle of its range against the dollar over the past month, after a volatile two days as traders sized up Japan’s incoming prime minister and his cabinet.

Australia’s dollar edged towards Monday’s high after upbeat domestic retail sales data.

Powell adopted a more hawkish tone in a speech at a conference in Tennessee, saying the US central bank would likely stick with quarter-percentage-point interest rate cuts moving forward.

“This is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly,” he said.

Traders remain certain that the Fed will cut again at the next policy setting meeting in November, but slashed expectations for a 50 basis-point (bps) reduction to 35.4 percent from 53.3 percent a day earlier, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

“The door has not been closed on a 50 bps cut, because if economic data tanks then such a cut is warranted. But Powell clearly thinks markets are overly excited” about upcoming cuts, said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index.

The Fed kicked off its easing cycle with a larger-than-expected half-point reduction last month.

Powell’s speech came ahead of a heavy week of US data, including the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index later on Tuesday and non-manufacturing report on Thursday, followed by Friday’s potentially crucial monthly jobs figures.