By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) -The dollar got off on the front foot on Wednesday following two days of gains as traders awaited the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole annual symposium later this week for clues on the path for monetary policy.

A speech on Friday by Fed Chair Jerome Powell is the main focus, with the market watching for any push back against market pricing of a rate reduction next month.

Traders currently place 84% odds on a cut next month, and expect around 54 basis points of reductions by year-end.

The dollar index, which measures the currency against six major counterparts, edged up to 98.393 early on Wednesday, the highest since August 12. It had gained about 0.4% in the first two days of this week.

“Given the relatively high bar for Powell to meet, there’s a bit of

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