U.S. dollar declines amid rate-hike uncertainty

The U.S. dollar ended lower against most major currencies on Thursday amid uncertainties over the timing of Federal Reserve's next rate-hike.

Investors have lowered bets on an interest-rate increase as soon as next month as Fed Chair Janet Yellen did not send a clear message of whether the central bank will raise interest rate at its March meeting.

However, at her testimony before the Congress on Wednesday, Yellen signaled more than two rate-hikes this year as economy continues to make progress toward the maximum employment and price stability objectives.

According to CME Group's FedWatch program, investors saw a 22 percent chance of a rate increase in March on Thursday, down from 31 percent in the previous session.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was down 0.67 percent at 100.500 in late trading.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0669 dollars from 1.0587 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.2490 dollars from 1.2445 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar fell to 0.7695 U.S. dollar from 0.7700 U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 113.23 Japanese yen, lower than 114.27 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar dropped to 0.9978 Swiss francs from 1.0069 Swiss francs, and it edged down to 1.3063 Canadian dollars from 1.3092 Canadian dollars. Enditem