1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar falls amid thin trading

The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies on Monday amid thin trading in holiday season.

With no major data coming out of the country on Monday, the U.S. dollar retreated from its two-week highs at the beginning of a shortened trading week when U.S. and most European markets will close on Friday for Christmas.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers,was down 0.33 percent at 98.375 in late trading.

The index had climbed to the highest level of 99.233 since Dec. 2 on Thursday following the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade last Wednesday.

In late New York trading, the euro increased to 1.0921 dollars from 1.0862 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound slipped to 1.4883 dollars from 1.4809 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar rose to 0.7187 dollar from 0.7186 dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 121.05 Japanese yen, lower than 121.28 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar fell to 0.9919 Swiss franc from 0.9928 Swiss franc, and it went up to 1.3964 Canadian dollars from 1.3928 Canadian dollars. Enditem