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NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Friday amid a Fed official' s hawkish comments.
Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said in a statement on Friday that the U.S. short-term interest rates should be raised now.
"I am arguing for modest, gradual tightening now, out of concern that not doing so today will put the recovery' s duration and sustainability at greater risk," he said.
With no major data came out on Friday, Rosengren' s words renewed market expectation for a rate-hike soon.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was up 0.03 percent at 95.481 in late trading.
In the previous two sessions, the greenback was under pressure as the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged in its September meeting.
The U.S. central bank said it made the decision due to recent weak economic data and tepid inflation.
It also said that near-term risks to the U.S. economic outlook "appear roughly balanced," a sign that the central bank could raise rates by the end of this year.
In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1230 dollars from 1.1206 dollars of the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.2958 dollars from 1.3072 dollars. The Australian dollar slipped to 0.7617 dollars from 0.7629 dollars.
The dollar bought 101.10 Japanese yen, higher than 100.90 yen in the previous session. The dollar climbed to 0.9697 Swiss francs from 0.9692 Swiss francs, and it inched up to 1.3174 Canadian dollars from 1.3067 Canadian dollars. Enditem
