U.S. dollar bolstered by comments from Fed official

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, a non-voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee, said Tuesday that there was a strong case for raising interest rates and that borrowing costs may need to rise significantly to keep inflation under control.

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, meanwhile, said Monday that the U.S. central bank should not delay raising interest rates.

Analysts said the comments from the policymakers added to market speculation of an interest rate hike by the end of the year.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, rose 0.46 percent to 96.137 by the end of trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1201 U.S. dollars from 1.1217 U.S. dollars, and the British pound decreased to 1.2739 U.S. dollars from 1.2859 U.S. dollars. The Australian dollar dropped to 0.7621 U.S. dollars from 0.7674 U.S. dollars.

The U.S. dollar bought 102.82 Japanese yen, higher than 101.57 yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar also rose slightly to 0.9798 Swiss francs from 0.9733 Swiss francs, and gained to 1.3197 Canadian dollars from 1.3117 Canadian dollars.

Editor: Ade Marboen

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