New York, Dec 20 (IANS) The US dollar climbed against most major currencies on Federal Reserve's positive remarks about the country's labor market.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said in a public speech on Monday that "after years of a slow economic recovery, you are entering the strongest job market in nearly a decade," adding that there are also indications that wage growth is picking up, Xinhua news agency reported.
In late New York trading on Monday, the euro fell to $1.0405 from $1.0438, and the British pound dropped to $1.2399 from $1.2487. The Australian dollar decreased to $0.7245 from $0.7299.
The dollar bought 117.36 Japanese yen, lower than 117.91 yen in the previous session.
The dollar inched down to 1.0268 Swiss francs from 1.0270 Swiss francs, and it climbed to 1.3412 Canadian dollars from 1.3344 Canadian dollars.
Her comments came a week after the US central bank decided to raise interest rates for the first time this year.
The Fed also released its updated economic projections, which indicated that the central bank forecasts three rate hikes next year, while in its September projections, Fed officials expected only two rate hikes in 2017.
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.17 per cent at 103.120 in late trading on Monday.
