NEW YORK, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The dollar fell against major currencies on Tuesday on positive home sales data and speculation on the monetary policy decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

    The National Association of Realtors reported on Tuesday that sales of existing homes in U.S. gained 2.4 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million units. It was the third monthly increase this year and the first back-to-back monthly increase since 2005.

    "Historically low mortgage interest rates clearly drew buyers into the market, and housing remains very affordable even with a recent uptick in rates," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the association.

    The report boosted risk appetite, which was hurt in the previous session by a World Bank report. The World Bank said global economy will decline by 2.9 percent in 2009, much worse than a 1.7 percent loss forecasted earlier.

    The Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on Tuesday at which it is expected to keep key rates unchanged at near zero level. Some investors speculated that the central bank will dampen expectations for rate hikes this year.

    The euro bought 1.4083 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.3865 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound rose to 1.6454 dollars from 1.6344 dollars.

    The dollar dipped to 1.1516 Canadian dollars from 1.1520 Canadian dollars, and fell to 1.0671 Swiss francs from 1.0867 Swiss francs. It fell to 95.26 Japanese yen from 95.93 Japanese yen.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis