LONDON, Aug 26 Reuters The dollar held steady near twodecade highs against other major currencies on Friday, ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell39;s widelyanticipated speech at the Jackson Hole symposium.

Traders are looking for clues on the U.S. central bank39;s tightening plans to combat rampant inflation when Powell speaks at 1400 GMT.

The dollar index which tracks the greenback against six major currencies has steadily gained over the past two weeks and is just shy of the twodecade peak of 109.29 it hit in midJuly. It was last flat on the day at 108.470.

Powell is likely to focus on the shortterm challenges and endeavor to leave no doubt about the Fed39;s determination in the fight against inflation, Esther Reichelt, a forex analyst at Commerzbank, said in a note.

If he succeeds convincingly, he could support the dollar, at least in the short term.

Fed officials have been noncommittal about the potential size of interest rate increases in their addresses at the symposium so far, but have maintained that they will drive rates up to keep inflation at bay. 

The Fed is due to get two more key inflation reports and more jobs data before its scheduled Sept. 2021 meeting.

In Europe, soaring energy prices stemming from Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine have dimmed economic prospects and weighed on the euro and sterling.

Sterling fell as much as 0.5 to 1.17750 , as British regulators confirmed consumer energy bills would rise 80 and warned of a crisis…