1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar rises on Yellen's positive remarks on economy

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen made positive remarks about the country's economy, bolstering market expectation for the Fed to raise interest rates by year-end.

In her speech to the Economic Club of Washington on Wednesday, Yellen expressed confidence in the U.S. economy, saying the job growth and consumer spending in the country were solid.

Although Yellen did not indicate whether the central bank would raise rates in its next meeting this month, she said she was "looking forward" to a rate-hike which will be seen as a testament to the country's economic recovery.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.20 percent at 99.999 in late trading.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 217,000 jobs from October to November, beating market consensus of 183,000, according to the ADP National Employment Report released Wednesday.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0623 dollars from 1.0630 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound declined to 1.4942 dollars from 1.5079 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar dropped to 0.7303 dollar from 0.7329 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 123.14 Japanese yen, higher than 122.87 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 1.0185 Swiss franc from 1.0278 Swiss franc, and it went down to 1.3364 Canadian dollars from 1.3375 Canadian dollars. Enditem