NEW YORK, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The dollar rose against major currencies on Tuesday after latest U.S. economic reports boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates earlier than expected.

    The Labor Department reported on Tuesday that U.S. producer prices index jumped by 1.8 percent month-to-month in November as gasoline and fuels prices spiked. Analysts have forecasted an increase of 0.8 percent. Core producer prices excluding energy and food rose 0.5 percent, the largest increase in more than a year.

    U.S. industrial production rose 0.8 percent in November, according to the Federal Reserve. The increase was broad-based, with some of the largest increases in construction, materials and mining. Manufacturing sector output rose 1.1 percent in November after a decline of 0.2 percent in October. Capacity utilization rose from 70.6 percent in October to 71.3 percent in November.

    International capital inflows into U.S. securities from foreign countries remained strong in October, with net foreign purchases of long-term assets of 20.7 billion dollars, the Treasury reported.

    The Federal Reserve began its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday. It was widely expected that the central bank would keep key interest rates unchanged at ultra low levels on the meeting. Investors are closely watching the meeting for any possible new signals about exit strategy of economic stimulus measures.

    The euro bought 1.4529 dollars in late New York trading compared with 1.4647 dollars it bought late Monday. The pound fell to 1.6256 dollars from 1.6304 dollars.

    The dollar rose to 1.0615 Canadian dollars from 1.0595 Canadian dollars, and rose to 1.0409 Swiss francs from 1.0322 Swiss francs. It rose to 89.74 Japanese yen from 88.63 Japanese yen.