1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls after sharp gain

The U.S. dollar decreased against other major currencies on Wednesday after the greenback soared to the highest level in seven months in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar rallied against most major currencies on Tuesday as the country's central bank was on track to raise interest rates by year-end while the European Central Bank signaled to unleash further stimulus to boost the economy.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.35 percent at 99.322 in late trading on Tuesday, the highest level since April. The index retreated to 98.948 in late trading on Wednesday as the greenback took a breath from recent gains on Veterans Day.

The U.S. dollar had been firmly supported since a robust employment report released last week spurred market expectation for an interest-rate hike in the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting in December.

The U.S. Labor Department said on Friday that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 271,000 in October, soundly beating market consensus of a 190,000-rise.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0704 dollars from 1.0704 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound increased to 1.5220 dollars from 1.5103 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.7058 dollar from 0.7020 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 122.90 Japanese yen, lower than 123.24 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar dropped to 1.0045 Swiss franc from 1.0077 Swiss franc, and it went down to 1.3267 Canadian dollars from 1.3276 Canadian dollars. Endit