U.S. dollar climbs amid Fed officials' remarks

The U.S. dollar ended higher against most major currencies on Tuesday as investors raised expectation for an interest rate-hike soon amid hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials.

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker indicated on Friday that he would support a rate-hike as soon as next month, saying he "would not take March off the table at this point."

Moreover, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said on Monday that she would be "comfortable" with the Fed raising interest rates now as inflation pressures increase.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen gave an upbeat assessment of the economy last week, saying that the economy has continued to make progress toward the maximum employment and price stability objectives. She also implied a faster pace of interest rate hikes in the future.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.45 percent at 101.400 in late trading on Tuesday following the policy makers' hawkish comments.

In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.0545 dollars from 1.0612 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound rose to 1.2460 dollars from 1.2429 U.S. dollars in the previous session. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.7679 U.S. dollar from 0.7663 U.S. dollar.

The U.S. dollar bought 113.58 Japanese yen, higher than 112.88 yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 1.0091 Swiss francs from 1.0026 Swiss francs, and it edged up to 1.3153 Canadian dollars from 1.3103 Canadian dollars. Enditem