The U.S. dollar extended gains against most major currencies on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Janet Yellen's remarks implied a faster pace of interest rate hikes.
In her testimony before Congress, Yellen said that "At our upcoming meetings, the (Federal Open Market) Committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with these expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate."
Besides, she gave an upbeat assessment of the economy, saying that the economy has continued to make progress toward the maximum employment and price stability objectives.
Analysts said Yellen's tongue was more hawkish than the previous market predictions, which boosted the dollar on Tuesday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, added 0.26 percent at 101.220 in late trading.
In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.0574 dollars from 1.0601 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.2471 dollars from 1.2527 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7651 U.S. dollar from 0.7650 U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar bought 114.19 Japanese yen, higher than 113.63 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar climbed to 1.0070 Swiss francs from 1.0053 Swiss francs, and it edged up to 1.3065 Canadian dollars from 1.3062 Canadian dollars.
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