U.S. dollar climbs on rate-hike expectations

The U.S. dollar increased against other major currencies on Friday as Federal Reserve officials' recent hawkish remarks bolstered market speculation for an interest rate hike by year-end.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday that a rate hike "could well become appropriate relatively soon if incoming data provide some further evidence of continued progress toward the committee's objectives."

Kansas City Fed President Esther George said on Friday that the U.S. economy would benefit from the Fed raising rates sooner rather than later.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard also said on Friday that he was leaning towards supporting a rate hike next month and argued that the real question now is the Fed's rate path in 2017.

The central bank policymakers' words well bolstered investors' expectation for an interest rate-hike in Fed's upcoming December meeting.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.33 percent to 101.230 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0604 dollars from 1.0629 dollars, and the British pound dipped to 1.2354 dollars from 1.2418 dollars. The Australian dollar slipped to 0.7343 dollars from 0.7412 dollars.

The dollar bought 110.62 Japanese yen, higher than 109.91 yen in the previous session. The dollar inched up to 1.0096 Swiss francs from 1.0067 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.3498 Canadian dollars from 1.3494 Canadian dollars. Endit