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NEW YORK, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar ended higher against other major currencies on Thursday as hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials spurred market expectation for a rate-hike later this month.
Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said Wednesday evening that the Federal Reserve could raise rates "soon", citing an improved global economy and a solid U.S. recovery.
Brainard's words came after New York Fed President William Dudley and San Francisco Fed President John Williams both expressed support for a rate-hike in the near future on Tuesday.
The Fed policymakers' words continued to boost the greenback on Thursday. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.44 percent to 102.230 in late trading.
On the economic front, in the week ending Feb. 25 the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 223,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 31, 1973 when it was 222,000.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0497 dollars from 1.0553 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound dropped to 1.2251 dollars from 1.2301 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar declined to 0.7559 U.S. dollar from 0.7676 U.S. dollar.
The U.S. dollar bought 114.55 Japanese yen, higher than 113.69 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 1.0145 Swiss francs from 1.0084 Swiss francs, and it edged up to 1.3400 Canadian dollars from 1.3345 Canadian dollars.
